


Discovery

by devoosha



Category: Hey Arnold!
Genre: F/M, Hey Arnold - The Jungle Movie, action and adventure, anxiety and insecurity, my take on the jungle movie, romance and angst, written and posted on another site BEFORE the real jungle movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-08-14 13:14:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 109,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20192875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devoosha/pseuds/devoosha
Summary: Before the Jungle Movie was released, I wrote this fanfic as my imagining of how it would play out.  It's definitely not canon.  Once the movie came out, all of this obviously went out the window, but I enjoyed writing the story and it has much love on the other site, so I wanted to share it here.Someone in Arnold's class wins an essay writing contest that takes the class on a trip to San Lorenzo, where Arnold's parents were last known to be.  Follow the adventures of Arnold and his classmates as they search for answers to the Shortman's disappearance.  Adventure and romance, humor and angst - all in a day's work.





	1. I Asked if You Had a Crush on Anyone

**Author's Note:**

> When I began this story, I wasn’t intending to include anything in The Jungle Movie timeline. I originally began the story five years after. At one point I did a flashback scene, which eventually turned into chapter 4. As I was writing later chapters, I would get ideas for small scenes in San Lorenzo and in school before the trip, and would end up writing them, usually as one-shots. Some I incorporated into flashbacks, but that was getting cumbersome. I ended up putting them into the story chronologically and began bridging the scenes together with more content. 
> 
> Storyline Note: Because from what I understand as Hey Arnold the movie being set approximately in March (both Helga and Arnold are 9) and April Fool’s Day is chronologically after HAtM a week after Helga’s birthday, she would be 10 years old. The Journal takes place in October, two days before Arnold’s determined birthday, where he would presumably turn 10 as well. Therefore, I have started my story the September after HAtM and April Fool’s Day, and a month before the Journal. To me, that means the class is now in 5th grade. In my timeline, the trip to San Lorenzo occurs in May of their 5th grade year – Helga would be 11 (and I think many of the kids as well) and Arnold would be 10 for the trip.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold returns to school after summer to start fifth grade. He's missed Helga, who was out of town for the whole summer, and is confused as to how she acts toward him once they see each other again. He talks about it to his Grandpa, and also confesses what happened at FTI.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually the first full fanfiction that I ever wrote. Even I can see my improvement from this to my more current work. It's still good, in my humble little opinion :) I made some minor grammar and format edits, but I present it pretty much as I originally wrote it over two years ago. I hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 1 - I Asked if You Had a Crush on Anyone**

“Hey Arnold-Hey Arnold-Hey Arnold”

Arnold reached up and unplugged his alarm clock and the room became silent. He rolled over and lay on his back for a minute staring up at his glass ceiling as he waited to completely wake up. He then jumped up, excited. This was not normally the way one woke up for school, but it was when it was the first day of fifth grade. Arnold was one of those kids that loved going to school. He liked his teacher and his classmates and loved to learn.

He found the bathroom empty and was glad that he didn’t have to wait his turn. He took a shower and spent a long time trying to tame his hair and make it look nice. It didn’t quite work and he sighed, positioning his little blue hat on his head and he was done. With a towel tied around his waist he left the bathroom carrying his pajamas and went back up to his room to dress.

He picked his clothes with a little more care than usual. He was in fifth grade now and he thought he should pay more attention to how he looked. He wanted to look nice. His Grandmother had taken him shopping for new clothes, but to him his wardrobe looked pretty much the same as always. Arnold sighed, pulling out a shirt and sweater. _‘Same old same old’_…he thought. Just a bigger size. He should have at least gotten some different things and upped his outfit game.

_‘I never cared about clothes before,’_ he thought, shaking his head. _‘I guess that’s growing up?’_

Once dressed, he grabbed his backpack, which he had packed the night before with his school supplies, and went down to the kitchen to see if there was anything for breakfast. Sometimes one of his grandparents would have something waiting for him, sometimes he got his own. Today, his Grandfather was at the stove making pancakes.

“Good morning Grandpa.”

“Heya Short Man,” Phil said, turning and smiling over his shoulder at his grandson. “Pancakes ok?”

“Of course!” Arnold said, grinning. He tossed his book bag on an empty chair and sat down. Phil put a plate in front of Arnold stacked high with pancakes. 

“Excited for the first day, Fifth Grader?”

“I am Grandpa!” he answered, covering his pancakes with syrup.

“Seeing all your classmates again, but I guess you see them all summer, so it’s not like you had a chance to miss them,” Phil chuckled, but looked slyly at his grandson out of the corner of his eye. 

“Yeah, pretty much,” Arnold said, between bites. “Except Helga. I didn’t see her all summer.”

“Oh yeah, I think I remember you mentioning that,” Phil said, seeming to recall that fact. Phil was actually laughing to himself on the inside, because Arnold had mentioned it almost every day the entire summer. 

Arnold nodded. “She went to her grandmother’s in June and stayed all summer,” he said to Phil. “I’m not really sure why. She’s never done that before. I mean, she does visit her grandmother every summer, but she never has for the whole time.”

Phil hmm’d, glad that his back was turned to Arnold and that the boy couldn’t see his expression. He busied himself at the stove as he listened to Arnold ramble on, again, about Helga missing from the usual gang antics for the summer. He noticed after the April Fool’s Dance that Arnold mentioned the girls’ name a lot more than usual. Something had happened. Phil didn’t know what, but something. He didn’t think the kids were ‘dating’, or whatever the equivalent of dating was to nine and ten year olds, but something changed.

When Arnold fell silent and kept eating, Phil brought the pans over to the sink to wash them. He thought about the girl Arnold was talking about and smiled; she was a tough little girl and reminded him a lot of his wife as a child. Gertie had the same attitude and behavior that Helga displayed. He knew Gertie acted that way toward him to hide the fact that she was, in fact, in love with him. Phil and Gertie were pretty sure it was the same thing for Helga. She paid their grandson much more attention – even though it was mostly negative – than anyone else. They even looked aside at all the times they had seen the girl in the house uninvited. They were not oblivious to her escapades, whatever her reasons for ‘breaking in’.

Phil shook his head and chuckled quietly. He had been half-amused, half-frustrated with Arnold’s denseness about Helga’s obvious feelings about him, until Gertie very pointedly reminded Phil that he was 18 when he finally figured out how things stood between the two of them. Now he was mostly amused at Arnold’s denseness and hoped that his grandson would figure out he was meant to be with the girl much sooner than Phil had figured out Gertie. To Phil’s view, it looked as if Arnold was finally moving in the right direction. The boy certainly talked about Helga much more than ever before. And, Phil noted to himself, even if Arnold hadn’t talked about Helga much before this summer, the boy had noticed that Helga had done something unusual, so Arnold obviously paid the girl enough attention to know when things changed.

“Kimba! Ready for adventure today? Off to the jungles once again?” Gertie said, coming in wearing a pith helmet and carrying her fly swatter.

“You bet, Bwana!” Arnold returned enthusiastically, grinning at the older woman. 

“Make sure you tell that Eleanor hi for me. I miss that girl.”

“Ok, I will,” Arnold agreed, wondering once again to himself who his Grandmother was talking about. The name ‘Eleanor’ came up every once in a while and his Grandmother seemed to think Arnold knew her. Grandma had said it was Eleanor Roosevelt, who Grandma seemed to think was still alive and part of Arnold’s life. He learned long ago to just roll along with whatever his Grandmother said.

Arnold missed the look between his Grandparents. She raised her eyebrow at Phil and he nodded to her. 

“You look nice today Kimba.”

Arnold looked down at himself a little confused. He looked like he always does. He was grateful that his Grandmother thought he looked nice, but he didn’t know why she thought that. He took more care in getting ready than he usually did. Maybe that was it. Maybe it showed. Arnold smiled with satisfaction.

“Thanks Grandma! I tried to look a little nicer.”

“Oh? Any reason, great hunter?”

He chuckled. “I guess the first day of school, of fifth grade.”

“Yes yes, that makes sense. I’m sure your little friend will appreciate it,” Gertie agreed before walking out of the kitchen yelling something about stalking fresh meat.

Arnold finished his breakfast and stood up to bring his plate over to the sink. He wondered what his grandmother meant by what she said. “What did Grandma mean by that?” he asked. 

“What’s that Short Man?”

“My friend appreciating it? I don’t get it.”

“Oh, who knows with Pookie,” Phil said, shrugging as he took the plate from his grandson and slid it into the water-filled sink. Phil took in the confused expression on the boys’ face and decided to give Arnold a slight push more in the direction he was headed. Over the past seven years of this strange relationship, Phil had kept his mouth shut on his theories – at least to Arnold himself. In his opinion, Arnold needed to figure things out, and Arnold was still a kid, so there was no hurry. But sometimes a push, a small one, was something that was called for.

“Maybe she meant Helga,” Phil said.

Phil’s attention was on the dishes he was washing, but he was watching Arnold out of the corner of his eye. Arnold’s eyes popped wide open. 

“Helga? Why would she mean Helga?”

“Oh, I don’t know Arnold. Maybe because you’ve mentioned it a few times that you haven’t seen her all summer.”

“I have?”

Phil allowed himself a chuckle. “Oh, a couple times…” he paused for a few seconds. “… a day.”

Arnold stared at the sink, watching Phil scrubbing at one of the cooking pans. “I have?” he asked again.

“Mmm hmm. I’m sure that’s what Pookie meant. She must think you miss the girl.”

He could see that Arnold was thinking that over. His grandson was a serious young man. A fun kid, but serious all the same. “Well, I suppose I have,” he said slowly, almost to himself. “I mean, she does make things a lot of fun, when she’s not picking on me anyway. Have I really talked about it that much?”

“You have, Short Man.”

“I didn’t realize,” he said, frowning.

Phil finally looked at him with a smile. “Nothing wrong with missing a friend Arnold,” Phil assured him.

Arnold turned and went back to the table to grab his backpack. His thoughts were muddled in his head. “No, you’re right Grandpa, nothing wrong with that,” he agreed, smiling at Phil. “I should get going to catch the bus.”

“Have a good first day, Arnold,” Phil wished him.

Arnold went out the front door, automatically standing aside as a small horde of animals rushed into the boarding house. He barely noticed his surroundings, however, as he walked to the bus stop. He thought about what each of his grandparents had said. Had he been talking about Helga that much? He honestly didn’t realize he was. Had he said that sort of stuff to anyone else? Gerald? And why did his grandmother think Helga was his friend? Was she? Sure, they hung out together in their group of friends and he guessed he had hung out with her a few times just the two of them, but friend?

The bus pulled up and Arnold climbed up, smiling and returning greetings from the classmates that already were on the bus. Gerald had saved him a seat and he slid into it, putting out his hand so he and Gerald could do their handshake.

“Fifth grade!” Gerald said. “And Mr. Simmons again!”

“I’m actually excited about that. Mr. Simmons was a great teacher last year.”

“Aw, no doubt man, no doubt. I’m happy too. At least I learned a lot.”

“Me too, and he was fun.”

“I still wonder why the school did that.”

Arnold shrugged. “I’m not complaining.”

“Me neither, brother.”

The bus stopped again and Phoebe got on, sliding into a seat three rows up from the boys. Arnold smiled as Gerald’s attention immediately went to the small girl. “Do you want to go sit with Phoebe?” Arnold asked him.

Gerald turned his head to look blankly at Arnold.

“What?”

Arnold shrugged. “Maybe you can finally tell her you have a crush on her.”

Gerald’s mouth dropped open. “Dude I am NOT you. I may have game, but I am not bold enough to go do that. _You_ are the bold one.”

“So you finally admit you have a crush on her?”

Gerald looked flustered. “Wait, what?” he spluttered while Arnold smiled. “Look,” he finally was able to say. “You can’t say _anything_!”

“Would I do that Gerald? Come on, you know me better than that. I’ve known for a long time and never said anything.”

“You have? Am I that obvious?”

“To me you are, but I know you so well,” Arnold said. “To be honest, though, I don’t think she would…object…if you were to want to hang out more.”

Gerald’s expression changed from panic to something slightly more lovesick, which Arnold found very hard not to laugh at. “You think so?”

“I do. She’s always looking at you and smiling.”

That seemed to satisfy Gerald. “Well, maybe. I’ll think about it. I mean, I want to, but still, it’s not easy. I don’t know how you do it.”

Arnold rolled his eyes. “Don’t use me as a role model. I’m terrible at girls.”

Gerald laughed sympathetically. “I hate to say it, but that’s true. You still gonna try for Lila?” he asked, looking over at where the red head sat talking over the back of her seat to Phoebe.

Arnold shook his head. “Oh no, I’m done with that. She isn’t interested, and I realized that I don’t really like her that much anyway. Sure she’s pretty and nice, but I don’t know. There’s not much else to her.”

“So no one for Arnold to crush on this year, huh?” Gerald teased.

The bus stopped and Arnold noticed Helga climb on the bus and walk down the aisle to sit down next to Phoebe. Something was different, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. She looked the same - blond pigtails, the ever-present bow, a pink and white dress – and while the style of the dress was slightly different than she normally wore, he couldn’t see anything different. Wait. She wasn’t scowling, nor did she push anyone out of the way or insult anyone as she made her way to her seat. The genuine smile at her best friend was all he saw before she turned around to sit down.

“Uh, Arnold?”

He turned his attention back to Gerald. “Huh?”

“I asked if you had a crush on anyone.”

Helga’s name popped into his head and he almost said it. He blinked a few times before shaking his head. “Uh no, no-one Gerald.”

He tried not to think of that, and what his grandparents had said earlier, the rest of the short ride to PS118.

* * *

Though they all advanced to fifth grade, their classroom was in the same room they had the year before. Mr. Simmons, their fourth grade teacher, was assigned to them for fifth grade. When they heard the news last year, they all cheered, which made their beloved teacher nearly cry. The fourth and fifth grade classes were held in the same wing of the school, so Principal Wartz let Mr. Simmons stay in the classroom without having to move all of his stuff.

The class automatically took their seats from the previous year when they came in after the first bell rang. Arnold sat in his old seat next to Gerald. He saw Helga and Phoebe come in and knew that Helga had to walk past his desk to get to hers, which was in the row next to him on the other side of where Gerald sat, only one seat back. He braced himself for some sort of insult or her brushing past him roughly, but she passed him silently and seemed to glide past him and everyone else without her normal belligerent roughness. 

Surprised, his eyes followed her as she passed him and took her seat. When she looked up and noticed that Arnold was turned and staring at her, she stared back, her eyes wide. He expected her exasperated and angry “What?” she said every time he looked at her like that, but it never came. If he didn’t know better, he would swear that she looked both scared and sad. Those were the first words that came to his mind. He leaned more toward her and said in his most friendly tone. “Welcome back Helga. Did you have a good summer?”

She kept staring at him for a moment, then blinked a few times. She nodded slowly and finally said, looking slightly to the side. “It was ok.” Then after another pause asked without quite meeting his eyes again. “You?”

“It was good. We had fun, but it wasn’t the same without you.”

Her eyes narrowed and she looked confused. She finally snorted and muttered something that to him sounded like “I’m surprised anyone noticed I was gone.” The final bell rang before he could question what she said, and if he heard her correctly. He hoped she didn’t think no-one would have noticed she wasn’t around. He frowned and turned in his seat to give his attention to Mr. Simmons.

* * *

“How was the first day, Short Man?” Phil asked as Arnold came in at the end of his school day.

“It was good Grandpa,” Arnold answered, kicking off his shoes and putting his backpack near the bottom of the stairs so he could take it up to his room after his snack. He followed his grandfather into the kitchen so they both could find something to eat. “I’m looking forward to some of the projects Mr. Simmons told us about, and it sounds like we’re going to learn a lot of cool things this year.”

“That’s good. I always liked that teacher of yours. I’m really glad you get to have him again.”

“Oh, I am too. I think all of us are. He’s so much fun.”

Phil dragged out the makings for sandwiches and threw them on the kitchen table before seating himself across from Arnold. Arnold opened the bread sack and Phil opened the deli bags containing the salami and cheese. “So, anything interesting happen today?”

“Not so much interesting. We didn’t do much schoolwork. Just sort of reviewed some things from last year and talked about things for this year.”

“No homework?”

Arnold shook his head. “Not really. We have to write a small essay about our summer is all. Just a few paragraphs. That shouldn’t be too hard and shouldn’t take me long,” he answered as he built his sandwich.

“Ok good, I was hoping you would help me outside for a little while after we eat.”

“Of course, Grandpa.”

“Anything else from school?” the old man said after swallowing a bite of his sandwich.

Arnold chewed thoughtfully and also swallowed. “No…yeah…I don’t know…”

“What’s that mean?”

“I saw Helga. She acted weird all day.”

“Oh she did? In what way?” Phil’s attention sharpened at this, though he kept his expression vaguely interested.

Arnold grimaced. “I know this will sound strange to complain about, but she wasn’t mean to me at all.”

“Mmm,” Phil murmured. Arnold had told him many stories about Helga’s bullying and the ways she treated him. Arnold complained often about how she treated him - the names, the insults. “Not mean to you eh? Is that bad?”

“It’s not normal.”

“Well Arnold, people can change, you know, and all of you are getting older.”

“I guess,” Arnold agreed, though he sounded unconvinced.

“Tell me about it.”

Arnold related to his grandfather all the small things that bothered him that day, even though most of them shouldn’t have in the first place. Helga didn’t come on the bus yelling and shoving people. She didn’t insult him the entire day. She sat quietly in the lunchroom with only Phoebe, and didn’t pull any pranks or anything. “It was just odd Grandpa. It was almost as if she didn’t want anyone to even know she was there. I’ve never seen her so quiet.”

“Something might be bothering her Arnold. If you’re so worried about it, ask the girl,” Phil suggested in a nonchalant tone, though he watched his grandson closely. 

Arnold thought about that. The thought of trying to talk to Helga about anything personal seemed to him to be a death wish, but there had been a few times that the two of them had good personal talks. Then he frowned, realizing what had been bothering him most of the day. She had ignored him - actually avoided him. He tried to talk to her three times and she slipped away from him so cleverly that he didn’t even see she was gone until it was too late. 

“What’s that frown for, Short Man?”

“Before class started, I asked Helga how her summer was and she just looked away and answered that it was ok,” he started to explain. Phil just nodded. “She asked about mine and I said it was fun. We all had fun hanging out, but that it would have been more fun if she was there.”

“Well, that was a nice thing to say, Arnold,” his grandfather approved.

“But it looked like it upset her. And I think she said something like she was surprised anyone would even notice she was gone.” The boys’ frown deepened. “Why would she think that? It wasn’t as much fun. She always has fun ideas of things to do.”

“I’m not sure Arnold.”

“So, I wanted to ask her about that, and assure her that we all noticed and that we all missed her,” he said, not actually knowing if it were true. There had been a few jokes about Helga not being around to boss them around or push them around or insult everyone. Yet, there had been a few comments he could think of where it was mentioned that she was missed. Phoebe seemed lost the whole summer without Helga around her. “But every time I tried to talk to her, she, I guess, just got away. I think she was avoiding me.”

“Why would you think that?” Phil asked, taking Arnold’s empty plate from him before starting to wrap up the deli packages.

“Normally, if she doesn’t want to talk to me, she’ll shove me away or insult me. She didn’t do anything like that. She just,” he paused, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture, “seemed to disappear. I never even saw her go. She was there, then not. I almost felt like I was losing my mind and seeing things.”

Phil sat back in his chair and crossed his arms, regarding his beloved grandson through narrowed eyes. He thought over what Arnold had related to him about his day, and also read between the lines. The girls’ indifference and apparently changed personality rattled the boy. Phil had no idea why Helga acted differently today. He knew she was a little older than Arnold and that girls matured faster than boys and Helga was at that age. She may have been hitting puberty, but Phil thought it might be more than that. Whatever it was, her lack of attention to Arnold bothered his grandson.

He leaned forward, his elbows on the tabletop and his fingers steepled in front of him. “Can I ask you something Arnold?”

“Of course, Grandpa!”

“Did something happen between you two? I know you went to that dance together when you thought you blinded her.”

“Something happen?” Arnold squeaked a little guiltily. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, that’s what I’m trying to find out. Did something happen at the dance?”

“No-ooo. Not anything that I haven’t already told you.”

Phil had been amused at the description of the April Fool’s dance. He was proud of the boy for getting his revenge on the girl. Not that he wished Helga any ill at all. He loved that she was so spunky and clever. The blind prank she pulled on Arnold was brilliant after all. But Helga also needed to know that Arnold wasn’t just a limp rug that could be walked all over, so him getting his revenge on her was brilliant and encouraging in and of itself. 

“But,” and here, he noticed, Arnold blushed a deep red color and looked down at the table.

This was interesting. Phil’s eyebrows shot up as he looked at Arnold. Did Arnold not tell him about something that happened at the dance?

“But?”

Arnold answered in a very small voice, still not looking up at his grandfather. “There was something a couple weeks before the dance.”

Phil rubbed his chin. “That was about the time of the whole FTi thing, isn’t it? You told me the girl was the one to help you and Gerald figure everything out.”

Even Arnold’s ears were red now. He didn’t look up yet, but did reach up and rub the back of his neck nervously. “She was, but I didn’t tell you everything Grandpa.”

“What did you leave out Arnold? You can tell me.”

It took a few minutes for him to answer his grandfather. He finally drew in a deep breath and said, still in that small voice. “When I found out it was her we were up on the roof there. She wouldn’t tell me why she helped us. And, I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I just kept pushing her to tell me.”

“Mmm hmm.”

“She-she said it was…because…”

“Because what, Arnold?” Phil asked when Arnold stopped.

“Because she loved me.”

That floored Phil. He knew the girl had guts, but this? He hadn’t expected she would do that yet. “She said that, did she?”

Arnold nodded, his eyes still down. “Then, I don’t know. It was like, almost like a dam had burst. She started saying all this stuff. I don’t even remember. I was so overwhelmed at what she had already said, I barely heard her.”

Inside, Phil was gleefully dancing a little jig. Outwardly, he just hmm’d. “I can imagine.”

Arnold hesitated. “Then she kissed me.”

And with that, Phil almost got up and danced that little jig for real, but Arnold looked embarrassed and Phil wasn’t sure yet how Arnold felt about it. “That must have been a surprise, Short Man.”

“It was. I just-I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to think, and we had to get back to the neighborhood with that tape. I had no time to think.”

“What did you do, then?”

Arnold sighed. “I told her we had to go and we left and got back to the neighborhood in time, you know the whole story.”

“Did you talk to her at all about it?”

Arnold nodded. “I did, but I don’t think I handled it right,” he admitted. “But Grandpa, I didn’t know _how_ to handle it. I thought she hated me.”

“What did you say to her?”

“The only thing I could think of. I asked her if she really meant it and she seemed upset. So I said something like ‘you don’t love me, right? You really hate me, right?’ and she agreed and got mad and insulted me. It seemed everything went back to normal.”

Inwardly Phil groaned. His grandson was _so_ dense. He reminded himself, though, the boy was only nine years old and hearing something like that from Helga had to have been unnerving. 

Arnold continued, however. “Two weeks later was that dance, and everything definitely seemed back to normal. But,” he paused.

“But?”

“I just realized, the way she acted today, she was kind of like that the last two months of school. I just, I guess didn’t really notice it. But I don’t remember talking to her much before school was done.”

“Well, Short Man, if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say the poor girl is embarrassed. Whether or not she meant it, that’s a pretty big thing to say.”

Arnold thought about that. “I guess you’re right, Grandpa.”

“Of course I’m right. Think of it this way, if you said that to a girl and she brushed you off, how would you feel?”

“I didn’t brush her off!” Arnold protested.

“It amounts to the same thing,” Phil said, shrugging.

“No! I told you Grandpa, I didn’t know what to think of it! I didn’t completely disregard her feelings!”

Phil was secretly pleased at Arnold’s response and asked, “So what do you think of it now, Short Man? What the girl said to you and about kissing you.”

Arnold stared at his grandfather, his mouth hanging slightly open. “I don’t know,” he said slowly, and, Phil could tell, honestly. “I guess I haven’t actually thought about it at all.”

Phil chuckled and stood up, gathering their sandwich things and turning to the fridge to put them away. “Maybe you should,” he suggested. He added thoughtfully, “I mean, it was your first kiss, wasn’t it?”

The boy sat at the table, watching his grandfather with a blank look, and the blush that had been fading returned. “It was,” he said faintly. “At least unscripted kiss,” he added, realizing with a shock that Helga was also the one to give him those scripted kisses.

“That’s a pretty big milestone, Arnold,” the old man turned, shut the fridge door and smiled at his grandson. 

Arnold nodded. “I guess, Grandpa,” he said vaguely. “And it was…nice…now that I think about it. I liked it. But I was kind of, well, really surprised when it happened.”

Phil laughed. “I would be surprised if you hadn’t been, Short Man. I remember the first time your Grandma planted one on me. I had no idea she even liked me. And there it was.”

“When was that Grandpa?”

“We were 18. Graduation I think. I didn’t graduate of course, but I was there with my parents to watch Mitzi graduate. You know she and Pookie were in the same class. I had enlisted in the army and would be leaving soon. She came to me and told me she would miss me and planted one on me. Out of the blue. I tell you it ‘bout knocked me over. I thought she couldn’t stand me, picking on me all those years.”

“Picking on you?” Arnold asked.

“Yeah, I told you about that, Arnold. Pookie was always pulling pranks on me.” The old man looked at Arnold’s confused expression. “Don’t tell me you didn’t realize all those stories I told you were about your Grandma? I told you the little girls’ name was Gertie.” His grandson really was dense.

“I just…I know…just never put it together,” he said, embarrassed. His mind was racing. Grandma had been Grandpa’s bully? Why hadn’t he realized that? So Gertie had liked Grandpa all along? And picked on him to hide it? Was that what Helga was doing to him?

“You need to pay more attention to things, Arnold. I have a feeling you miss quite a bit,” Phil teased, patting the boy on the head. “Why don’t you run up and do your homework before dinner?” he suggested, completely ignoring the fact that he had asked Arnold for help in the yard. He wanted to give the boy some time alone to think.

Arnold nodded and stood up from the table. He grabbed his backpack and sighed. “Thanks for listening, Grandpa,” he said quietly and little subdued. 

“I’m always here for you Short Man, don’t forget that.”

* * *

Up in his room, Arnold sat at his desk with an open notebook in front of him. His elbow was on the desktop next to the paper and his chin rested on his upraised hand. His other hand held his pen, which tapped a random rhythm which was loud in the otherwise quiet room. Arnold sat there intending to start in on his essay, but his thoughts were tied up with his conversation with his grandfather.

Arnold was disgusted with himself for not realizing all of those stories of Grandpa’s bully were actually about his grandmother. _‘Duh Arnold, they had the same name,’ _he thought to himself, wincing. Everyone was right when they teased him about being dense. He knew he was a smart kid, but for some reason he did miss things. For all that he was good at helping people, when it came to the obvious, he was apparently lost. 

He couldn’t really picture his grandmother as being so mean. Some of the tricks she pulled on his grandfather were really bad. He didn’t even think Helga had been that mean to him. Sure his grandmother now was eccentric, but he could not picture her being deliberately mean, especially to someone she really cared about. 

Was the situation the same? Helga and himself and his grandparents. It seemed like it. He thought he should talk to his grandmother and ask her why she acted that way. Why she picked on Grandpa when she really liked him. Or did she like him when they were kids? Maybe she did hate him and eventually changed her mind? 

Did that mean that he and Helga would one day get married? Like in his dream? Or rather dreams. Ever since that marriage predictor thing, he’d dreamed about being married to her a few times. The first time started as a nightmare, but ending up being alright. After he put his foot down in the dream. The other dreams were pleasant. Nothing specific, just dreams of being together in the same house. Not dreams of the actual wedding, but being in the same house-sometimes with kids, sometimes not. Or dreams of them doing things together. 

But they were still just kids. Why was he thinking of marrying her? Did he even like her? Like her-like her? He should figure that out first before he even thought of marrying her.

He shook his head. _‘I’m thinking of stuff I shouldn’t be. I should be doing this essay. I don’t need to think of marriage. I should figure out why Helga avoided me today, but I guess the only way to do that is talk to her.’ _He sighed, positioning his pen to begin writing.

* * *

Arnold wandered into the kitchen to see if his grandmother needed help putting dinner on the table. He leaned down to scratch Abner on the head, getting a satisfied grunt from the little pig. “Homework done, Kimba?”

“Yeah, Grandma. I just had an essay to write on our summer. A short one, so it didn’t take long.”

“Good, good,” she murmured as she stirred whatever she had simmering in the pot. Arnold had no idea what she was concocting, but it did smell good.

“Grandma, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, Kimba. You can always ask me anything.”

He straightened up and leaned his arms against the counter next to the stove and his grandmother. “Grandpa told me stories about this little girl that picked on him a lot when he was little.” He heard his Grandma chuckle. “I just figured out today that it was you.”

“Oh yes, he was so much fun to pick on, Arnold,” she replied in a soft voice. She sighed happily. “Oh the things I used to do to him.”

“But why, Grandma?“ Arnold asked. “Didn’t you like Grandpa when you were kids?”

“Oh my, yes! He was such a cute little thing, and my best friends brother. Such a funny boy and so nice.”

“Then why do mean things to him?”

She pulled the spoon out of the pot and tapped it against the side. She reached for her spice jars and shook a couple of them into the pot and stirred it again. “Oh, I don’t know. I guess I didn’t want him to know I loved him so much. It was easier to pick on him than to tell him that.”

“I don’t understand. I thought you both always told me to be honest?”

“And you should be, Kimba. Always be honest. But for me? I don’t know. I was such a tomboy and I didn’t think I was very pretty.”

Arnold interrupted her, “I’ve seen pictures of you Grandma. You were pretty!”

“Aw Kimba, you are a sweet boy, but I didn’t think that. Maybe I thought it was the only way to get Phil’s attention, and I was very insecure. It would have been impossible for me to say to him how much I cared about him.”

Arnold turned that over in his thoughts. He didn’t quite understand it. When he liked someone, he wanted them to know, like with Ruth and with Lila. Sure it was scary to do that, but he still wanted to be honest. 

“Why all these questions, young explorer?”

“I was just curious is all.”

“Is it because of that girl at school who picks on you?”

He was surprised. Arnold thought that his grandmother didn’t pay much attention, or if she did, she didn’t remember much of what she was told. “Yeah. She-she told me she loved me last spring, but she hasn’t really talked to me since.”

“She did?” his grandmother looked at him with surprise.

“I don’t know if she meant it. She said later that she didn’t. Or I guess I suggested that. It’s complicated.”

“Love usually is, Kimba, it usually is.”

He was a little startled at that. “I tried to talk to her today, but she avoided me. I wonder why she did that, and why she picks on me in the first place.”

“Eleanor reminds me of me when I was little. That’s why I miss the girl. I haven’t seen her in a long time.”

She turned from the stove and went to the fridge to dig through it, leaving her grandson at the counter in shock. That’s who his grandmother meant when she spoke of Eleanor? She thought Helga’s name was Eleanor? He put his face in his hands and groaned softly. His thoughts were so confused, he had no idea how he was going to figure out everything he heard today.


	2. You Won't Believe What Happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold finds the Journal and shares it with Gerald and Helga, but Helga ends up confusing Arnold more and more.

**Chapter 2 - You Won't Believe What Happened**

The rest of the month of September raced by. Their schoolwork was, of course, harder, but Mr. Simmons made it enjoyable to learn. Most days after school, and most weekend days, the kids still got together for their little adventures and games - baseball at Gerald’s Field, bike rides, the pier, Dinoland and the dozens of other fun things and adventures the kids were always up for.

Arnold tried multiple times to talk to Helga, but she made it impossible. She pointedly never looked at him in class, no matter how many times he glanced over his shoulder at her. She was practically glued to Phoebe’s side, so he rarely caught her alone – which was what he wanted. He didn't want an audience when he did talk to her. Yet she seemed to never be alone. He never even ran into her outside of school like he sometimes had done before.

The few times that Arnold did catch her by herself, she displayed that amazing ability to disappear. He still could not figure out how she did it. It had to be that she never looked him in the eye; as he tried to talk, she would be staring so intently at something else that he involuntarily (no matter how many times he was determined _not_ to look) looked in that direction, only to turn back to her and find her gone. It truly was uncanny.

When all the kids hung out, she was always there, participating in the games and fun as usual and seemed to enjoy herself, but it was different in a way. She still had a temper, but she was nowhere near as bad as she used to be. No-one, of course, would mess with her. She was still frightening and still had a way of scowling at someone to get her way, but he didn’t really hear any mean insults coming from her directed towards anyone. He especially noticed that nothing mean came from her towards him. No names, no insults, no shoves or pushes, no spitballs…nothing. 

He was glad, in a way. It was good not to deal with the annoyances of her pranks. Yet, Arnold did miss some things. Helga was hilarious when she let herself be, but he wasn’t seeing that anymore. She was mostly quiet, even in the group. She had a way with sarcasm that he always found funny, even when she was sarcastic with him, and he missed that.

Arnold wasn’t the only one who had noticed this drastic change in Helga. He heard snippets of conversations among his other friends and classmates on the bus or at lunch. He could see the worried look in Phoebe’s eyes sometimes as she and Helga sat talking during recess or on the bus. Arnold even noticed Mr. Simmons eyeing the blond girl a few times in class as she half-heartedly answered questions.

The crisp September days passed quickly and before he knew it, October arrived. Arnold was frustrated that he had gotten nowhere with Helga during the entire month. How was she so darn elusive? She practically sat next to him in school, yet he couldn’t get ahold of her for more than a minute to talk to her. 

His problems with Helga, however, paled as a certain anniversary approached. Arnold hated this time of year, in spite of his birthday being just around the corner. It was the day, two days before his birthday, that he dreaded. The day his parents left and never came back. 

The few October days leading up to October 5 were spent in school, where he mechanically did his work and made it through the day. He didn’t really speak to anyone, didn’t go and play after school, and didn’t pester Helga. If he would have paid attention that week, he would have noticed that she seemed almost relieved that he wasn’t turning around in his seat every ten minutes to look at her. Helga was finally able to fully concentrate on her work in class and she breathed a little easier, though she had no idea why Arnold was suddenly so depressed-looking – a fact which, of course, worried her.

On October fifth, which was a Saturday, something happened that changed everything.

Arnold found the journal.

And he found a map.

And his problems with Helga were temporarily forgotten.

* * *

On Sunday he couldn’t wait to get to Gerald’s house and share his discovery with his best friend. Gerald, who knew everything that Arnold knew about his parents, was just as excited as Arnold to learn even more. Gerald had always felt horrible about the fact that Arnold’s parents disappeared so mysteriously. He was as gung-ho as Arnold was about going to find them. They spent the afternoon brainstorming ideas to make money to go and made many plans to search together for them. Gerald’s sympathetic support was just the balm that Arnold needed to help with his mood and when he finally left before dinnertime, he felt happier than he had felt for over a week.

As Arnold turned the corner from Gerald’s street, he saw Helga walking ahead of him. Where she was coming from, he had no idea, but she was alone and was heading in the direction of both of their houses. He couldn’t believe his luck. 

He picked up his pace to get closer to her. She didn’t seem to be in a hurry and walked slowly with her hands in the pockets of her jacket. When he got closer, he called her name.

Her step faltered and she seemed to hesitate, then kept walking. Arnold frowned. She had to have heard him.

“Helga wait!”

Helga stopped then and slowly turned around. She waited for Arnold to catch up with her, but didn’t make eye contact with him. She stared at the window of the shop she stopped in front of.

“Hi Helga! Walking home?” he asked her when he reached her. He was determined not to fall for her tricks of making him look somewhere else so she could disappear.

“Um, yeah.”

“Can I walk with you for a bit?”

Helga looked surprised at the question and glanced at him quickly before looking away again. “Sure, I guess.” She turned around and started walking again with Arnold at her side.

He looked at her as they walked. She had never been this unfriendly when they had hung out before – just the two of them. For instance, even though they were both unhappy at Thanksgiving, Helga at least seemed to be happy to hang out with him. Arnold, however, was too excited about the discovery of the journal. For some reason, he wanted to share it with her. He knew she would understand.

“You won’t believe what happened!”

Arnold watched her as she grimaced slightly. It took Helga a moment before she asked in a flat voice, “What?”

Arnold held up the journal that he carried. “I was reading my dad’s journal. Grandpa and I found it. I think-I think my parents might be alive.”

She stopped as if stunned, then turned quickly to face him, giving him a sharp look before looking down to stare down at the book Arnold held in his hands. 

“Really?” Helga asked, her voice and expression showing how much this interested her.

“Yeah! I was just over to Gerald’s to show him. There’s a map in here to where they went.” Arnold opened the book and flipped to the back, opening up the map. “See?” he asked, turning the book and shoving it into her hands. He was so happy that she was actually talking to him that he was a little awkward.

He noticed how gently she handled it though, as if she too considered it a precious object. Helga lifted the book slightly to study the map. “San Lorenzo?”

“It’s in Central America.”

“Why were they going there?”

Arnold then explained to her a little about the green-eyed people and how his parents were going there to help them, but their plane got lost. Helga watched him and he could see the sympathy and concern in her eyes. Then for some reason, she turned her attention back to the book and started leafing through it, looking at the pictures, one of which made her actually smile. Even as he talked, he leaned a bit closer to her to see which picture she was smiling at and saw it was a picture of himself as a baby.

When she reached the map page again, she waited until he finished his explanation and asked, “You think they were headed to this?”

Arnold nodded. “I think so.” Then he sighed a little in frustration. “I just wish I could go there. I’m going to do what I can to save up money to go and try to find them. Someday.”

“That’s great Arnold,” Helga said, and she sounded enthusiastic and positive about the idea. He watched her carefully fold the map back into the book and then close the journal gently. She then handed it back to him as she said, “This book is, well, it’s really a treasure.”

Helga saying that surprised him a little, but he felt so happy that she did and he smiled warmly at her. “I think so too.”

They kept walking and in a few minutes reached the Sunset Arms where they stopped at the bottom of his stoop. He was facing her and thinking that maybe he should invite her in. Helga did look a little distressed, even though she said to him in a very quiet voice, “Thank you for sharing that with me, Arnold. I-I appreciate it. I hope you can find them.”

“Thanks Helga,” he said, smiling sincerely at her. “I knew you’d understand,” and he did know that.

Helga stared at him, her expression confused and sad at the same time. Arnold tilted his head as he looked back at her, unsure why she would be wearing an expression like that. She finally gave him a half-smile and looked away, up towards his door and he automatically turned, climbed the steps and put his hand on the doorknob. “Oh,” he said, turning back to invite her to come inside with him, but she wasn’t there.

Frustrated once again, he jumped back down to the sidewalk, looking both ways up and down the street. “Helga!” he yelled, but got no response. “HELGA!” Arnold looked around the building, both sides, but she was nowhere to be seen. “How does she do that!?” he yelled, angry at himself for letting this golden opportunity slip away once again_. ‘Why didn’t I just make her sit here with me on the stoop? If I wouldn’t have looked away, I could have gotten her to talk to me.’_

Arnold stomped up the steps, slammed the front door, and made his way up to his room. The journal was carefully laid on his desk; in spite of his anger he still treated it with special care. He kicked off his shoes and flopped onto his bed, staring up through his roof. “Why is she acting this way?” he said loudly. “She’s never been like this before, and why won’t she talk to me?” He couldn’t understand at all. Today was the first time she said more than five words to him since April. He thought they were getting along again, but apparently they weren’t. 

He put his hands over his face and made a noise like a muffled scream. “Fine! If she doesn’t want to talk to me, I just won’t try anymore!”

He rolled over, crossed his arms on the bed and buried his face in them. 

A few moments later, there was a soft knock at his door. “Short Man?” he heard his grandfather’s voice call, sounding worried.

“Come in!” Arnold yelled, though his voice was muffled by his arms.

When Phil opened the door to see his grandson face down on the bed with his face hidden, he had to smile, and, after a moment, hid his smile away.

“It sounded like you’re upset Arnold,” he said, coming into the room to stand by the bed. “I thought I heard, well, something like a scream from here. What’s the matter? What happened?”

Arnold groaned and mumbled something.

“I can’t understand you like that Arnold. Sit up!” he commanded. Phil was seldom stern with Arnold - the boy rarely did anything bad, but he thought it a good time to bring out that voice.

After a moment, Arnold rolled back over and struggled to a sitting position, his legs hanging off his bed. Since there was now room, Phil sat on the edge next to Arnold. “Now tell me, what happened to upset you so much?”

“Helga!” the young boy cried. “She did it again!”

“What did she do?”

“She disappeared, Grandpa!” he said, his frustration evident, his face flushed. “I finally had her alone. I caught her as I walked home. I stopped her and asked to walk with her and she said yes. I thought finally I’d have a chance to talk to her.”

“And?”

“She _wasn’t_ talking to me and I didn’t know how to start. Then I realized I wanted to tell her about the journal we found, so I did. She stopped walking and finally looked at me. I gave her the journal and she looked through it while I told her. She looked interested and happy for me. She actually talked to me.”

“Well that’s good Arnold. I’m glad to hear that….”

“But we started walking again and we got here. I was going to invite her in, but before I could she thanked me for sharing Mom and Dad’s story with her.” He was kicking his heels at his bed as he talked, showing Phil how frustrated he was.

“That was nice of her…”

“I thought so, and I told her so, and said I knew she’d understand. She just looked. I don’t know Grandpa. When I said that, she looked confused, even a little sad. At least I think so. I just stared at her wondering why she would look like that. Then she sort of smiled at me and looked at the door. I _know_ I shouldn’t look away from her. She disappears when I do, but I thought things were good between us again. So I turned to walk up the steps, not realizing that I hadn’t asked her to come in. I turned to ask her and SHE WAS GONE! AGAIN!”

The boy nearly shouted the last few words and it was all Phil could do not to laugh. The girl was working his grandson up into a frenzy. This, to Phil, was a good thing. Pookie would be delighted to hear this new development. Arnold certainly had strong feelings for Helga - that was obvious now. Not obvious to Arnold, Phil could see, but obvious to Phil.

“I yelled for her and tried to look for her, but she was _gone_! I don’t know how she does it! How could she get away that quickly? There was no trace of her!”

Phil put his hand on Arnold’s shoulder. “First of all, Arnold, you need to calm down.”

Arnold took a deep breath, then realized how he must sound to his grandfather. He was embarrassed and took another deep breath to help dissipate his anger.

“I’m sorry, Grandpa.”

“It’s ok Arnold. I know you’re frustrated. I would be too. It’s ok to be angry, but let’s talk about what you can do about this.”

“I can’t think of what to do Grandpa. How can I do anything when she won’t even talk to me?”

“Why do you want to talk to her so badly, Short Man? What do you plan to say to her?”

Arnold turned his head to stare at his grandfather blankly. What was he going to talk to Helga about? He wasn’t really sure. He knew he had originally wanted to assure her she was missed that summer, but that was now over a month ago and seemed stupid to bring up. 

“You’re trying to talk to this girl so much and you have nothing to say?” Phil asked.

“No I have something to say!” Arnold insisted. “I mean, I think I want to talk about what happened at FTi.”

Phil reached up to rub at his chin. “You know Arnold, I may be wrong here, but did you ever think that Helga is afraid you want to talk to her about that?”

Arnold looked down at his lap. He hadn’t thought of that. Did that mean she didn’t mean what she said? So she didn’t want him to think she really did like him? Maybe she thought he liked her back and didn’t want to hurt his feelings?

“Um, I don’t know, Grandpa.”

“She may not be ready to talk about it Arnold,” Phil suggested. “She may not have been ready to tell you how she felt in the first place. It sounded like you pushed her into it. She might not be able to face it again right now.”

Arnold thought that over. “Or maybe she doesn’t like me Grandpa and just wants to avoid me.”

“Oh, I suppose that could be the case too,” Phil grinned inwardly at the frown that showed on the boys’ face when he said that. “But I don’t think that’s it. The way she’s acting, I’m sure she still likes you.”

Arnold’s expression brightened up noticeably, but it still remained clouded and upset. “What do I do, Grandpa? How do I fix this?”

Phil put his arm around Arnold and pulled him closer for a side hug. “I know you feel you need to fix everyone, Arnold, but sometimes you just can’t, until the person is ready to be fixed. If I were you, I would give her some space. I’m assuming you trying to talk to her so much is something out of the ordinary?” he asked and received a nod from his grandson. “I’m not saying ignore her, but just don’t chase her down anymore. Go back to normal and let her feel comfortable again. The time will come when you’ll need to be more aggressive about letting her know how you feel, but for now, just let her alone.”

It sounded like good advice to Arnold. He was willing to try anything at this point. He nodded again, “Ok, Grandpa. I’ll try that. Maybe I was too forward. She’s just so hard to figure out!”

His grandfather chuckled and stood up. “The best girls are, Arnold. She’ll be worth it in the end,” he said, then left the room, leaving a very thoroughly mystified Arnold still sitting on his bed.


	3. Thank You for Remembering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helga’s point of view of what’s happened so far.

**Chapter 3 - Thank You for Remembering**

Arnold was true to his word. It was hard, because he really wanted to talk to Helga the more he thought about things. It seemed to work, however. He stopped turning around to stare at her, or at least he tried. He couldn’t help looking at her, but he did do it less often. He also stopped trying to trap her alone. He contented himself with hanging out with her only around their friends as a group. Over the rest of the month of October and through November, he noticed that she did seem to relax. While she didn’t return to her old self of bullying and name calling, and she still remained quiet and rarely spoke to anyone except for Phoebe, at least she didn’t look like a deer caught in the headlights anymore. 

Helga herself was relieved. The last seven or so months had been pure torture to her. Well, April and May weren’t horrible. Her perception was that Arnold had rejected her at FTi and that hurt. It hurt so much she wanted to die. Alright, maybe that was extreme. She didn’t really want to, but she just wanted her heart to stop aching. She cried almost every night and exhausted herself. She didn’t feel up to talking to anyone, except Phoebe. She thanked the gods of all religions for Phoebe, who wouldn’t let Helga push her away no matter how hard she tried.

As summer approached, along with their annual visit to Granny Deenie, short for Geraldine, Helga was struck with a brilliant plan. She begged her parents to stay for the whole summer with Granny Deenie. Helga was not looking forward to the idea of hanging out with the gang during the summer and seeing Arnold every day. Her mother, Miriam, was surprised, not realizing that Helga liked her maternal grandmother all that much, but her parents agreed and left her there after the week visit was over. 

Granny Deenie was delighted to have her granddaughter all to herself. Granny Deenie wasn’t a typical grandmother. She didn’t cook or bake or sew or knit or anything like that. Granny Deenie was an active, healthy, and adventurous old lady. She took Helga around places near her home - museums, art galleries, the theater - and Helga enjoyed her summer, in spite of her broken heart. The two were very similar in personality, and while they often clashed tempers, they both had a wonderful time with each other until the day Helga boarded the bus for the trip back home.

The trip home was a nightmare. The bus was crowded with strange people and awful smells, and it seemed to take a long time for the bus to get back to Hillwood. All Helga could think of was that once the bus reached home, the summer was essentially over and she would have to face Arnold again.

Helga noticed something different regarding Arnold right away. From day one of school, he seemed to pay her a lot of attention. He kept turning around to stare at her, which made her incredibly nervous. He also kept trying to talk to her, which she definitely didn’t want to do. One of the last times Helga had talked to Arnold, the roof of FTi, she had said too much. Though she had talked to him during the April Fool’s Day prank, she was so concentrated on pranking him she hadn’t worried about what she was saying. But now? She was afraid that if she talked to him, all her feelings would come pouring out again.

She couldn’t take another rejection.

Helga was grateful that her schoolwork wasn’t suffering and that she remained top of the class only after Phoebe, because Arnold was completely unnerving her. She had trouble concentrating on her work with him constantly turning around in his seat. The worst, however, were his attempts to speak to her. Helga made sure she was near Phoebe at all times that she could be. She knew if she was alone, Arnold would inevitably pop up and awkwardly try and start a conversation. She became an expert at being stealthy to make sure that when she was alone, he wasn’t anywhere near.

The times that Arnold did catch her, she perfected a disappearing act that would probably make Houdini jealous. She herself didn’t even know how she was able to slip away so fast, but she was thrilled that she could. Helga learned quickly that Arnold would always eventually look wherever she was looking, especially if she stared intently enough in another direction. At school it was fairly simple, there were so many rooms and closets and places to hide once she slipped away. 

In the first week of October, however, she grew really concerned about him as he seemed to grow despondent each day. While she was relieved that his attention was diverted from her, her heart ached in a different way to see him so down. When Helga overheard Arnold talking to Gerald one Saturday about it being the anniversary of the day his parents disappeared, her heart ached even more for him.

On that Sunday, she spent most of the afternoon in Mighty Pete by herself. She had her pink book with her and wiled her time there writing in it. She needed to be away from her family and from her well-meaning best friend. Her heart still hurt for Arnold and she wished that there was something she could do, but that seemed an impossibility. Helga heard most of the kids talking about going to the docks that day, so she knew she would be alone. Arnold still seemed to be lost in that funk from the day before, so she was positive she wouldn’t be bothered by him.

Near dinnertime, she tucked her book and pen in her inner coat pocket and climbed down Mighty Pete’s ladder for the walk home. She regretted it the moment she heard her name called in that oh-so-familiar voice. She hesitated, then kept walking, not wanting to speak to him. Dammit he had caught her out of school by herself.

Arnold called to her to wait and she cringed inside. She couldn’t keep pretending not to hear him. And unless Helga started running, which would look crazy, he would catch up to her. She had to stop and hope for a good opportunity to pull her disappearing act.

To her surprise, Arnold asked to walk with her and it surprised her enough that she answered yes, but awkwardly couldn’t think of anything to say as they resumed walking. So she said nothing until he spoke to her about the journal.

Helga knew his parents disappeared years ago. She didn’t, however, know the circumstances around their disappearance. The day before was the first she heard about what had happened. She always assumed they died somehow, probably something tragic, and never asked because that was just something you didn’t ask someone. Especially someone you claimed to hate, yet secretly loved.

The stories Arnold summarized for her, giving her more details than she heard the previous day, seemed pretty far-fetched and fantastical, even as she paged through the precious journal and read some of the passages herself. Arnold’s excitement was so high, though, Helga didn’t have the heart to do anything but be enthusiastic about his chances of finding them, though she doubted that they could still be alive after all these years. There was no way that she would ever let him know she thought that.

They continued walking after she carefully handed him back the book. Thankfully it wasn’t far to his house and she hoped to make a quick getaway. Helga dreaded that he would want to talk to her, as it seemed he wanted to for the past month. She could see it, though, when they stopped at his steps. He was going to invite her inside or ask her to talk. She knew he would and she knew she had to disappear before that. She knew she was weak enough to do whatever he asked of her.

Then Arnold confused her, by saying that he knew she would understand. What did he mean by that? She knew her expression mirrored her confusion and that he noticed it. She could tell by the way he looked at her. Helga needed to do something fast before he tried to ‘talk’ to her. Thankfully she knew this house and this neighborhood like the back of her hand and she knew how to distract him. She smiled and glanced at his door, as if she wanted to go in. It worked. Arnold turned and stepped up to his door while she bolted and hid.

Helga couldn’t see him from her hiding spot, but she heard him yelling for her. She was surprised at how angry he sounded. She heard him yell “How does she do that?” and then heard the slam of his front door.

She quickly climbed out of her hiding spot and hurried around the corner, very relieved that she dodged that fiasco. Her mind was a mess of confusion as she walked home. She couldn’t understand why Arnold wanted to talk to her alone so much, and why he was so angry when she disappeared. Helga finally snorted and said aloud as she neared her own stoop, “They say girls are hard to figure out. They must never have tried to figure out a boy.”

* * *

The very next day was her beloved’s birthday. Helga always celebrated it in her own way, singing “Happy Birthday” to her shrine, but the shrine was now gone. She had gotten rid of it before she left for Granny Deenie’s. Helga didn’t want Miriam to find it and once she got home she didn’t have the heart to make another one. She contented herself with singing to her locket, which was something she could not bring herself to get rid of.

A birthday poem also made it into her current pink book. This year the poem was quite different from the other years. Since FTi, her Arnold poetry had turned sad - to more heart-break and lost love from the prior love hopeful and love longed for. 

Helga wished then, as she did every year, that her beloved would have a wonderful birthday, the perfect birthday that he deserved, and she wished that she could be his, helping to make his birthday special. 

She was nervous about facing him when she got to school, thinking that he might still be angry about her disappearing on him the day before, but when Helga took her seat, she noticed Arnold glance at her, as he did every morning. He smiled and said “Good morning,” though he wasn’t expecting a response as usual. He looked surprised when she did, though. “Morning. Happy Birthday Arnold…” She said it softly and uncertainly, looking away right after she said it.

“Thanks, Helga!” he said, grinning at her. “Thank you for remembering!”

She just shrugged and almost met his eyes with her lips quirked into a small smile. The bell rang before either could say anything else.

Arnold sat there, thrilled that she remembered. He wished they were closer and that things weren’t so tense between them. He was going out to dinner with his grandparents and Gerald that evening and he would have liked to invite her, but he recalled his grandfather’s advice to give her some space. 

Helga noticed that Arnold didn’t turn around in his seat as many times as he had been since school started. Maybe he was mad at her about yesterday, but he didn’t seem to be. He did turn around a few times and smiled at her, though she pretended not to notice. She breathed a sigh of relief near the end of the day, and felt a certain amount of tension go. She was glad he didn’t seem upset – she had expected him to be after she heard him shout and slam the door after she disappeared. Arnold seemed to be back to old Arnold, though - friendly and apparently only vaguely aware of her existence.

For the rest of that week, and the next couple of months, Arnold didn’t try and corner her at all and she finally felt her anxiety ease. Helga didn’t have to be terrified that she would say something that would embarrass her further, and she hoped that he had forgotten what she had said in the first place. Helga was still heart-broken about it, and that pain never lessened, but she at least was able to relax and be able to concentrate on her lessons once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize this is basically a rewrite of the previous chapter from Helga's point-of-view. I wanted to do this in order to explain some of Helga's thoughts about things and begin to show why she is acting the way she is. It helps to establish her character for the rest of the story.
> 
> Also, Helga's grandmother is mentioned in "Road Trip", but not her name. I gave her the name Geraldine with the idea that Helga's middle name came from her.


	4. I Could Win This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helga discovers a contest that might get her a chance to help Arnold.

**Chapter 4 - I Could Win This**

_December_

Helga stared at the magazine page, her mind temporarily numb as she tried to process what she was reading:

WIN A TRIP TO CENTRAL AMERICA  
Submit the winning essay and you could win a trip for your class to ANYWHERE in Central America!  
Entries will be accepted until January 31  
Topic is of your choosing, but must be at least 1000 words  
Participants need to be between the ages of 10 and 15  
You choose your destination!

It was the last sentence that caught her eye. Choose the destination.

Her thoughts finally went into overdrive. _‘I could win this,’_ she thought. _‘I could win this and choose San Lorenzo. I could help him find his parents.’_

She looked up, gazing at her wall with a frown and said aloud. “Why should I? He rejected me. He doesn’t love me back. He doesn’t even like me.” She bit her lip hard to prevent the tears she could feel forming. “Ugh, get a grip Pataki,” she told herself sternly.

She looked down at the magazine. “I could still write it. I probably won’t win. This is a national contest. No harm if I scribble something out.”

She smacked her forehead. “Why bother? There’s no point. What should I even write about?”

She reached for the locket she wore around her neck, hidden underneath her shirt and opened it to look at the picture inside. “Oh Arnold, my love. Why do I still love you? Why do I still pine for you when you don’t return my affection? Why should I do this for you? Why? You don’t like me, no matter how much I love you.” She sighed. “But I can’t help myself. I want you to be happy and I know finding your parents would make you the happiest boy in the world.”

Her thoughts wandered back to that day in October when he caught her walking home and told her about his fathers’ journal, and how hopeful he looked. She never wanted him to lose that hope.

Bringing her thoughts back to the present, she looked once again at the magazine ad and made a decision. Well, didn’t really make it. It was made the second she saw the contest. She would try her best to win. She would do her best to make him happy. She still loved him, and that’s what you did for people you loved, right? She hopped off her bed and went to her desk to sit down. She tapped her pen to her lips for a moment, then started writing.

* * *

_A week later._

“So what did you want to show me, Helga?” Phoebe asked, settling on the edge of Helga’s bed.

They were in Helga’s room. The finished essay rested on Helga’s desk. She rarely shared her work, even with her best friend. Phoebe knew about her pink poetry books/journals, but never pried about them. She knew Helga was a good writer from the occasional things she had seen, but Helga was very guarded when it came to her writing.

“First look at this,” Helga said, handing over the magazine which was open to the contest page.

Phoebe took the magazine and read the announcement a couple of times. “A writing contest?” she asked, looking up at her friend. “Are you entering?”

Helga nodded.

“Well, that is just wonderful Helga” she said, smiling and adjusting her glasses. “What made you decide to do this? You hardly ever share your writing and this says it will be published in the magazine if you win!”

Helga bit her lip. “Arnold.”

“Arnold?” Phoebe asked blankly.

Helga sighed. “A few months ago I was walking home when Arnold chased me down on the street,” she said. “He had just been to Gerald’s to show him this journal he and his grandfather found that was his father's. He was really excited about it and shared it with me.”

“He did?”

Helga nodded. “Yeah. I don’t know why Pheebs. I haven’t even spoken to him in months.”

“No, you have not. Which I will say again is just plain dumb.”

She shrugged. “Whatever. I stopped and listened to him, looked through his book. He was convinced that this map that was in there would lead him to his parents.”

“Well surely his parents cannot still be alive?”

“I didn’t think so, but I would never say that to him,” she protested. “He looked too happy. It’s been nearly eight years Pheebs.”

“Please tell me you were nice to him,” Phoebe pleaded.

Helga scowled at her. “Of course I was.”

“Well, sometimes…” Phoebe left it hanging.

“I’m over that, Pheebs. I don’t have the heart for it anymore. He knows how I feel about him, so he wouldn’t believe it anyway. But yes, I was nice. I even thanked him for sharing it with me.”

Phoebe beamed. “But how does this relate to this contest?”

“His parents were headed for this San Lorenzo place in Central America,” Helga explained.

Phoebe glanced down at the magazine again. “And this is a trip to anywhere in Central America,” she reasoned. “You’re going to try and win this for Arnold?”

Helga nodded. “Since he told me about it, I’ve been reading what I can find about the place. I happened to see this magazine the other day at the newsstand. The whole thing is focused on Central America, so I bought it because, I don’t really know. Just to find out more about it, and I saw the contest.”

“Wow Helga! That’s amazing! Are you hoping he will fall in love with you for that?”

“What?! No!” Helga protested. “He’s made it clear that he doesn’t like me. I just want to help him and make him happy.”

Phoebe didn’t say it, but she was rather impressed with Helga’s sentiment. As much as Helga liked to portray this tough, emotionless, mean girl, she was actually quite loving and generous. Phoebe knew Helga had done many things to win Arnold’s heart, but had also done many things for him for which she didn’t take credit. That, in fact, Arnold never knew she had done and still didn’t know to this day. She was also pretty sure Helga was wrong about Arnold not liking her. Phoebe had not missed Arnold’s attempts to talk to Helga nor his habit of constantly looking at her in class, recess, and after school, but she sensed Helga’s mood and didn’t think it prudent to contradict her right now.

“Anyway,” Helga continued, “I wrote an essay.” She picked up the papers from her desk. “I-I want you to read it, Pheebs.”

“Helga, you hardly ever let me read your writing,” she said, mystified.

“I know,” Helga replied, looking down at the papers. “This is hard for me Phoebe. I put a lot of myself into this and it’s pretty revealing about my feelings, but you’re my best friend and you’re so smart and I trust you completely.” She continued to look at the paper and her hands were shaking slightly. “I want a tough critique. I really want to win this, so the essay has to be perfect. Spelling, grammar, everything. I want you to tell me if you think it could win a national contest.”

“I would be honored Helga,” Phoebe said sincerely.

Helga still hesitated, “It’s not a long read, but, well, here,” she said, thrusting the papers toward Phoebe, who took them silently and settled back on the bed, sitting cross legged, to read.

Helga slumped in her desk chair, trying not to look at Phoebe as she read. She couldn’t help it, though, and chewed nervously on her thumbnail as she waited.

Phoebe read through once, then returned to the beginning to read through another time. She kept her head down the entire time, so Helga couldn’t see her face clearly. After the second time through, Phoebe dropped her hands in her lap, still holding the papers, still looking down at them.

“Pheebs?”

When her best friend looked up, Helga was amazed to see tears streaming down her cheeks.

“Pheebs!”

Phoebe wiped at her eyes with one hand. “Helga this-this is…simply exquisite” she said in a choked voice.

“What!?” Helga exclaimed.

“I have never been so moved in my life. Your words, well they touch something deep in my heart.”

Helga just stared at her. “You’re joking me, Phoebe!”

Phoebe shook her head. “Oh no, Helga!” she said, wiping more tears away. “I would never joke about something like this, or lie to you. Helga this is-this has to win. I do not see how anyone who read this could not pick it to win.”

Helga’s mind was overwhelmed. “How about the spelling, the grammar?” she asked faintly. She had thought it was a good essay. Her best writing yet, but seeing the effect on Phoebe was something totally unexpected.

“Perfect! At least I did not see anything myself. I will read it again and try not to get wrapped up in the words,” she said, wiping her eyes again and looking down. 

Phoebe read through it many more times and pronounced it perfectly perfect in every way.

When Phoebe stood up, Helga pulled her into a big bear hug and held her best friend tight. “Thank you Phoebe,” she said in a choked up and quiet voice.

“No, thank you Helga, for finally letting me in. All the way in. I completely understand now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter, but one in which I wanted to introduce the possible way of getting the class down to San Lorenzo. I read an interview with Craig Bartlett where he had mentioned that Arnold would win an essay contest that got the class a trip to San Lorenzo, but I liked the idea of Helga winning it for him. I also wanted to show more of Helga and Phoebe's relationship.


	5. The Best Team Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Then there's this quiz bowl thing...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a long chapter that at first may not appear to go with the flow of the story that I've been developing. There are certain things in this chapter that happen that I believe are important to the development of the characters and where I want the story to go. So while a chapter about some random academic competition may at first seem out of place, I needed it for some important scenes between Helga and Arnold (and some important Phoebe things). Enjoy!

**Chapter 5 - The Best Team Here**

_January_

“Alright students, don’t forget to work on your vocabulary words tonight for the test tomorrow,” Mr. Simmons said as his fifth graders packed up their desks and backpacks in anticipation of the bell ringing. “And Phoebe, Helga, and Arnold, can you stay for a few moments so I can speak to you?”

Helga and Phoebe looked at each other, both trying to think if they’d done anything worth speaking to the teacher about. Helga then glanced at Arnold, who still sat kitty corner in front of her on the other side that Phoebe sat. She looked away when he turned to look at her with his usual smile. She shrugged to herself and settled back in her chair, crossing her arms in front of her even as the bell rang.

The rest of the class emptied quickly. Phoebe sat up straight in her seat, leaning forward eagerly. Mr. Simmons put a few things away into his desk then came around to the front of it and leaned against it. “Thank you all for staying. Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble,” he said jokingly, which got a smile from Arnold and Phoebe, but merely a stare from Helga.

“Actually, it’s a good thing. Principal Wartz approached me about forming a team for the Academic Bowl in March. It’s held in Olympia and is a prestigious competition among schools. There are different levels and not all schools are even invited. Ours was because of our academic record and Principal Wartz thought the fifth grade would be the best representative,” Mr. Simmons said, his voice full of pride.

Arnold and Phoebe looked at each other with huge smiles. When they looked at Helga, she was still staring poker faced at their teacher.

“The teams consist of three members, and you three are my best students. What I also like about the three of you is that you each have different strengths. Phoebe is best at science and math, Arnold at social studies, and Helga is best at literature and English. All of you also do really well with all around general knowledge, so together, I think you’ll be a very strong team.“

“Of course, Mr. Simmons!” Phoebe said enthusiastically. “What is the competition like?”

“As a team, you compete against another school in elimination rounds that last most of the day. The elimination rounds consist of twenty questions for each school and the school with the most points advances. The number of points you get in each game will determine who goes first in the final if you make it there. The final is in the late afternoon and will be a round of fifty questions. You get to confer for each answer and the team captain will answer for the team.”

Mr. Simmons continued, “We have a little over two months to prepare. It is a tough competition but I have every confidence that we can win. If you all are willing, we can practice a couple times a week after school. The prize is a trophy for the school as well as a cash prize for each of you.”

Phoebe and Arnold smiled at each other again and both nodded. “I know I’d like to be on the team,” Arnold said.

“Me too!” Phoebe said.

Mr. Simmons looked at Helga, whose expression hadn’t changed. Her mind, however was working rapidly. While she loved competing in things like this and loved to flex her brain on trivia, the thought of having to spend time with Arnold, even in this kind of setting, was painful to her. Her plan of completely avoiding him would be derailed having to practice for this with him. 

She held her teachers’ eyes for a moment, aware that Phoebe and Arnold were both staring at her. She finally gave Mr. Simmons a half-hearted smile, “Count me in.”

Her teacher and Phoebe and Arnold all broke into smiles. “Excellent Helga. Thank you. If all of you can stay tomorrow, let’s do our first practice session after school.”

* * *

“This is so exciting!” Phoebe said as the three walked out of the school after their meeting with Mr. Simmons. They had missed the bus and planned to walk to their homes.

“I think we’re going to do really well,” Arnold agreed, smiling. “And it’s going to be really fun!”

“I am so glad Mr. Simmons picked the three of us. I agree that we will work really well together,” Phoebe said.

Phoebe and Arnold excitedly discussed the competition for the few blocks they walked before Helga and Phoebe turned the corner to head to their houses. Helga was silent for the entire time they were all together. Arnold wondered at her lack of excitement and her blank expression. He was thrilled to be on this team with her. Even though Phoebe was there, he hoped that he had given her enough space the last few months in order to make her feel more comfortable around him. He might have a chance to be alone with her now that they were teammates. 

The girls both said goodbye to Arnold, Phoebe with a smile, Helga vaguely without looking at him. He watched them walk to the next block and couldn’t help but be a little hurt to hear Helga’s laugh and see her talking to Phoebe. Why couldn’t she be like that with him? She had been once, and it did sting that she wasn’t anymore. He hoped that things would change now that they would be spending more time together.

* * *

After school the next day, Arnold, Phoebe and Helga stayed to practice with Mr. Simmons. He had them push three of the front desks together and sit close to each other. Helga ended up in the middle and quietly fumed about that. “Arnold, why don’t you be team captain for today’s practice. I gathered together a bunch of questions that should be challenging for all of you, but nothing I don’t think you can’t answer. The format of the competition is fairly straight forward from what it looks like. The moderator will ask your team the question and give you a short time to confer. Once you all agree on the answer, the team captain will give it. Simple right?”

They all nodded. 

He handed them each a piece of paper. “You can also have paper to work out any questions that are equations. They do allow that. For example, they might give you a question asking to figure out the volume of a container or the area of a cube, things like that. You are allowed to work the problem out on paper before answering.”

They each pulled out something to write with. For some reason, Arnold noticed that Helga was using a purple pen. 

“Ok, let’s start,” Mr. Simmons said, looking down at the printed papers in his hand. He began firing questions at the trio. Each question was challenging, like Mr. Simmons promised. With Phoebe and Arnold leaning close to Helga, they would quickly answer the question and Arnold would provide the answer to Mr. Simmons. They knew all the answers to the dozens of questions thrown at them, save for one. 

Arnold was impressed with the amount of knowledge Helga had in her head. Except for the math questions, she came up with the answer to almost every question when he and Phoebe failed. When the question was asked, she wouldn’t respond right away unless it was obviously a literature question. In the rare times that he couldn’t think of the history or geography answer, she invariably would answer in a quiet voice. He felt so positive about their chances at the competition after this first practice session.

“You’re really good at this Helga!” he whispered to her while Mr. Simmons shuffled his papers to get another round of questions ready. 

She glanced at him, taking in his friendly smile. She shrugged and looked away again, causing his smile to falter a little. After a second though, she threw a “Thanks” at him as she looked to Mr. Simmons for the next question.

After the practice, where Mr. Simmons was all smiles, the kids walked home like they had the day before - Phoebe and Arnold even more enthusiastically talking about the competition and complimenting each other. Helga stayed silent again, even when the other two complimented her. Her only response was a smile and a soft voiced “Thank you” whenever they said anything about her ability to answer everything.

The girls turned off at the same corner and once again Arnold felt that little pang again when he could hear and see Helga start talking once she was away from him. 

* * *

“I do not understand why you are acting this way, Helga,” Phoebe said, her tone critical, as they left Arnold on the corner.

“What do you mean, Pheebs?” Helga asked, not meeting her friends eye.

“You are being completely rude to Arnold for no reason.”

“I smiled and thanked him,” she protested.

“Yes, but you are totally ignoring him. You did not even speak while we walked home yesterday and today. You said nothing to him other than answers today while we were working together. He and I talked right over you and you said nothing.”

“I had nothing to contribute, Phoebe,” she hedged.

“I know that is not true, Helga. You always have something to say. I cannot believe that you had absolutely nothing to say on anything we talked about.”

Helga ground her teeth together and tossed a glance over her shoulder as they rounded the corner onto Phoebe’s street. Arnold was gone. “I don’t want to talk to him. I don’t want to be on this team with him, ok? I don’t want to be anywhere near him.”

“I know,” Phoebe responded patiently. “You have told me this many times since last year, but I think you are being irrational about this whole thing. Arnold obviously is not uncomfortable about what happened, so you should not be either.”

“Arnold wasn’t the one who made an idiot of himself. That idiot is ME!” Helga cried, pointing to herself. “What does he have to be uncomfortable about?“

Phoebe seemed taken aback by Helga’s outburst, but only for a moment, as she was used to the dramatics of her best friend. She thought a few moments about Helga’s question, though she knew Helga meant it to be rhetorical. “Well, Helga, most boys our age would be uncomfortable with a girl declaring her love for him. Especially if that boy did not return her feelings. Yet, Arnold is not uncomfortable with you. To me, it seems as if he has come to terms with your feelings and is trying to be friends with you. I think that is a good sign that he might like you back.”

Helga’s mouth dropped open as the two of them stopped in front of Phoebe’s house. Before she could respond, however, Phoebe giggled and said, “Keep that in mind. See you tomorrow!” she chirped before bounding up the steps to her door.

* * *

The rest of the weeks until the competition passed in a wave of awkwardness on Helga’s side, now that she had that sly insinuation of Phoebe’s in her head. The trio worked twice a week after school on answering the dozens of questions that Mr. Simmons would throw together, trying each session to trip up the three with questions they couldn’t answer. Yet, while the questions did get harder, they were able to still do well answering them. 

During the third week of practicing, Mr. Simmons announced that he wanted to try something different - quizzing just one of them at a time. “I’ll start by working on Phoebe. I want to see how her all around knowledge is. Alright Phoebe, just you answer all of the next forty questions.” 

Mr. Simmons fired the questions off at Phoebe, who did very well in answering the majority of them, but proved Mr. Simmons estimation that she did better with science and math. He then quizzed only Arnold, and then finally worked on Helga.

Arnold literally sat in awe at the amount of questions that Helga could answer. Admittedly, she wasn’t as strong as Phoebe was in Science, and especially in Math; she was strong in everything else, most notably Geography and History. Helga did the best of all three of them in answering the questions Mr. Simmons asked. However, like Phoebe with science and math, and him with government, civics and other social sciences, Helga proved her proficiency in literature. 

She knew the answers about books and authors and poets of which he had never heard. Prompted with one line of a poem, she usually could answer with the following line. Tossed a question with the opening line of a book and she could identify title and author. Given three characters from a book she could name it.

One day, the week before the competition, Phoebe told Arnold and Helga to go on ahead without her as they left school after practice. Her mother was waiting for her in her car as the kids walked out, to take Phoebe shopping. Helga had not known this and knew Phoebe kept it from her so as to force her to walk alone with Arnold the few blocks toward their neighborhood. Helga glared at Phoebe, who waved cheerfully at her with a “See you tomorrow!”

Arnold was excited at this opportunity until he noticed Helga’s expression and frowned a little himself. She saw from the corner of her eye that he was looking at her and she schooled her expression into something more neutral. She turned and started walking without a word. If he wanted to follow her, it was up to him, but she was in a panic inside. They hadn’t been alone together since he told her about his parents and he hadn’t tried to get her alone, so she hadn’t had to pull her disappearing act. She looked down at the sidewalk, lightly dusted with fresh snow and knew her knack for vanishing would be derailed by the footprints she would leave if she tried to run and hide. She ground her teeth in frustration and hoped he wouldn’t say anything to get her to admit anything to him again.

He kept up with her at her side. Arnold usually had no problem talking to anybody, but her silence threw him off. At this point, he would even welcome a well thought-out insult to this or one of her flippant sarcastic remarks he always secretly found funny. He debated whether or not he should say something at all, but his good nature won out.

“I’m really impressed with how much you know, Helga,” Arnold said, looking at her and wondering why her eyes closed for a moment as she grimaced, but her face cleared quickly.

“Oh? Um, well, thanks Arnold,” she replied, unsure herself of what to say.

“I mean, I knew you were really smart, but I didn’t realize how much you actually know about a lot of things.” He smiled at her, though she wasn’t looking at him, and in fact looked pretty uncomfortable at his praise. “You knew answers to questions about things I’d never even heard of. I don’t know how you knew about some of those books Mr. Simmons has questioned us about.”

She bit her lower lip and shrugged. “I read a lot,” she said quietly. “And I can remember things for some reason. Things I hear, things I read. I don’t know how, but I can.”

“I’d definitely want you to be my partner if we played trivial pursuit.”

Her brow furrowed when he said that. As if they would ever play board games, like they were friends and hung out together. The corner where she would turn off for her own home looked so far away. This walk felt never-ending.

Arnold noticed her frown and wondered about it. He knew he had told his grandfather that he would give Helga her space, but didn’t Grandpa say that at some point he might have to be aggressive? Should he do that now? 

They walked in silence to the corner where she turned off and she was vastly relieved to be able to escape. They both stopped and without looking at him, she opened her mouth to say goodbye, but he spoke first.

“Are you alright Helga?”

“What?”

“I’m actually worried about you. You don’t seem like yourself anymore,” he said, his hand coming up to the back of his neck. He had no idea how to open up this conversation and that’s what popped out of his mouth before he could think.

She turned her eyes on him, looking genuinely surprised and, he detected, just a little frightened. Why had he never noticed how blue her eyes were? The expression made her look…cute. She actually looked vulnerable for a minute as they stared at each other and he distractingly noticed he had gained some inches on her and could almost look her in the eye. Then she closed off and her expression turned blank again. “I’m fine Arnold. There’s no need to worry about me. Don’t waste your time.”

He frowned, “I don’t see it as a waste of my time,” he objected. “If you want to talk…”

She interrupted him before he could suggest anything and repeated, “I’m fine.” She smiled, a cold smile with no humor behind it. “See you tomorrow,” she said, then turned away from him and walked away toward her block. He stared after her, confused and upset.

* * *

The competition was held on a Friday in Olympia. Mr. Simmons arranged for a substitute and volunteered to drive them all to the venue. They needed to leave early in the morning to make the hour long trip in order to be there for the registration that began at seven in the morning. Mr. Simmons offered to pick each of them up at their house.

Helga dressed nice from Phoebe’s suggestion. She chose one of her nicer pink dresses and decided to pull the sides of her hair back and secure it with her usual pink bow, and let the rest of her hair hang free to the middle of her back instead of her usual ponytails. She had no idea why she was taking pains to try and look nice. She thought nothing she ever did helped.

She put on her coat and went outside to wait for Mr. Simmons, so as not to disturb her parents. She sat on the top step of her stoop with her backpack next to her and waited. The weather was mild, but there was a slight morning chill to the air, which made her cheeks turn a little pink.

Helga stood and shouldered her backpack as she saw Mr. Simmons’ car turn the corner and jumped down the steps to the sidewalk as he pulled up. She saw with annoyance that Phoebe was in the front seat already, while Arnold was in the back. Her main thought as she got into the back with him was that no matter how much she loved Phoebe, she really wanted to strangle her at the moment.

“Good morning Helga!” Mr. Simmons said, smiling cheerfully at her. Phoebe and Arnold echoed him and she looked down and mumbled a “G’morning” in response.

“Are you all ready to win today?” their teacher asked.

Phoebe and Arnold both shouted their “Yes’s”, but Helga only nodded.

Arnold sat next to her quietly as Mr. Simmons navigated his car out of their neighborhood and onto the highway. Helga was staring straight ahead and he turned his head enough so he could watch her. Even though Helga wasn’t smiling, she didn’t have the scowl on her face she usually wore, and with her hair so different and her pink cheeks he saw how pretty she actually was. 

Helga was listening to Mr. Simmons talk to Phoebe, so she didn’t notice for a few miles that Arnold was staring at her. When she did see it out of the corner of her eye, she got nervous and defensively crossed her arms. She didn’t want to look at him, but her eyes involuntarily darted over and met his. She had to concentrate on not swooning, as he was dressed in a suit and looked adorable.

“What?” she hissed quietly.

Arnold’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Nothing Helga,” he said, looking away for a moment, then looked back and added quietly. “You look nice today.”

The vulnerable look he had surprised in her last week stole over her features again, and again it lasted only for a minute before she closed off. “Um thanks. You do too,” she said, then turned her head to stare out her window for the rest of the ride, leaving him confused once again.

* * *

The Academic Bowl was held in South Puget Sound Community College in their auditorium at the Student Union. A conference room nearby was set up to house the school teams not participating at the time. They arrived early, registered their team, and got their copies of the rules and their nametags. The girl that registered them informed them a luncheon would be provided at mid-day, no matter how far in the competition they got. The girl thanked them and wished them luck. 

Mr. Simmons led them into the conference room, a room furnished with uncomfortable chairs and tables. Many of the kids already in there were poring over books and looking over notes, desperately cramming last minute information into their heads. The three PS118 teammates all looked at each other. None of them had brought any study materials. Helga did have a backpack, but all that was in it were the two books she was currently reading and her lucky purple pen.

Mr. Simmons noticed their worried looks and smiled at them. “Let’s find a place to sit,” he suggested. “I wouldn’t worry about these other kids. Last minute cramming like this never works. You all will do fine with what’s already in your heads. Remember that for when you’re in high school and college. Cramming is not conducive to a good grade.”

They grabbed a small table with four chairs on one side of the room. Mr. Simmons and Arnold sat on one side and Phoebe and Helga sat across from them. Mr. Simmons refused to question them, even though Arnold and Phoebe begged him. He simply repeated what he said about cramming. Helga calmly took one of her books out of her bag and stuck her nose in it. Arnold, nervous in spite of his confidence in their team, marveled that she could so nonchalantly read like that. He tilted his head to see what she was reading and was surprised to see it was a Shakespeare play, _Much Ado About Nothing_. She was smiling while she read, as if amused by the book, and he felt his mouth quirk into his half-grin as he watched her across the table - something which didn’t escape either Phoebes’ or Mr. Simmons’ notice.

After about twenty minutes, a voice announced over the speakers in the room “Could the teams from PS118 in Hillwood and Puget Elementary please come to the desk outside the auditorium?”

Mr. Simmons jumped up, as did Phoebe and Arnold. Helga shoved her book into her bag and took out her pen. She threw her bag onto her chair and they followed Mr. Simmons out of the conference room and over to the auditorium. They were met by a young man who looked to be a college student volunteer. “We’re PS118, Hillwood,” Mr. Simmons told him.

“Ah yes, you’ll be next, after the current round is done,” the young man informed them.

The other team approached the table, three boys their age. Arnold, Phoebe and Helga eyed them as they came up to the PS118 group. Their teacher introduced himself to Mr. Simmons and the two shook hands, Mr. Simmons his usual effusive and friendly self, while the other teacher was aloof. Arnold and Phoebe smiled in a friendly way at the boys, who returned their smiles with the same arrogant aloofness of their teacher. Helga, however, glowered at the three boys, her arms crossed over her chest. Arnold was very amused at this strategy of hers as she did look quite intimidating.

The three boys looked nervously at each other. In spite of her pink dress and bow, this pretty girl from the other team looked downright scary. The boys were positive they could beat any team at the competition, especially some inner city morons, but they were more worried that this girl would beat them up physically than actually best them in the contest.

At a signal from another volunteer, the one they had spoken to at the desk told them it was time for their match and led them into the auditorium and escorted them to the stairs at the stage. There was a podium in the middle of the stage and a table on each side with three chairs each. Someone had put a cardboard placard on each table with the names of their schools. All six kids climbed the steps to the stage and took their places at their respective tables.

Helga and Phoebe had agreed to let Arnold be their captain, so he sat closest to the moderator at the podium. Helga sat next to him, then Phoebe. Once they sat, they were each handed a few pieces of paper and pencils. Helga put her pen next to her pencil and sat quietly, with her hands folded on the top of the table. Arnold glanced at her, admiring how calm she was. 

The moderator began by introducing the two teams; the name of the school and each of the team members. Helga looked out into the audience, which was small. A handful of people, mostly adults, were spaced around the seats. She assumed that they were all teachers, checking out the competition and seeing what their own teams would be up against. Mr. Simmons sat in the front row, his hands clasped in his lap and smiled encouragingly at his students.

The moderator reminded the teams of the rules and began the round. He started with the Puget Sound team and they answered easily. The first question for PS118 was a History question that Arnold answered. The game continued for twenty questions for each side. It was just like their practice rounds after school. Arnold and Phoebe leaned toward Helga, they agreed on an answer, which Arnold spoke aloud. Helga’s calmness through the whole thing acted as a soothing balm to Arnold and he found he didn’t feel nervous at all. Phoebe, too, seemed to be more confident than normal and they ended up beating the other team 20-16.

“A perfect score!” Mr. Simmons cried as they came off the stage and were gathered up into a hug by their teacher. “I’m so proud!”

They had advanced, but would have to wait for a while to compete again once the next rounds started, so they went back to the conference room and their table. Arnold and Phoebe talked excitedly to Mr. Simmons about the round they had just completed, while Helga turned her attention back to her book.

The morning progressed the same. They would go to the stage, compete, and win easily enough. While they didn’t achieve another perfect score, the PS118 trio did crush all their competition. At lunch time, everyone took a break to enjoy the sandwiches provided for them by the college. By that time, they were at the quarter-final stage with eight teams remaining and the questions were getting much harder.

The four of them lunched together, of course, and while it wasn’t a fancy lunch, it was good and they were hungry after the long day. “I am so proud of you three,” Mr. Simmons said. “I knew you would go far in this competition.”

“This is so exciting!” Phoebe squeaked. “I knew we had a really good chance!”

“And it’s been a lot of fun,” Arnold added. “Thanks for saving us in there, Helga. I couldn’t remember the capital of Azerbaijan. I can’t believe you remembered it.”

Helga looked up from the table, appearing uncomfortable at his praise. “No big deal. We would have won even if I didn’t know it,” she shrugged.

He rolled his eyes at her. “Oh come on! Don’t be modest. You’re the reason we’re winning.”

She frowned and shook her head. “No…no…it’s all of us…not just me…” she said, looking down again. 

“Yes, it is a team effort,” Phoebe agreed. She knew Helga didn’t want to be the center of attention, or want this sort of praise from Arnold at this time, so she tried to deflect it in order not to rile up her sensitive friend without discouraging Arnold in his obvious (to her) interest in Helga.

Arnold raised his eyebrows, looking across the table at Helga, whose eyes were still focused on her lunch. After a moment’s thought he said, “You’re right, we’re a team. The best team here.”

* * *

The next round was difficult. Phoebe got stumped by a math question, which was the first time in this competition. Helga didn’t know the author of an obscure poem and Arnold missed a government question. Phoebe also didn’t know a science answer and Arnold didn’t know a History answer, but thankfully Helga knew both of them. In spite of the difficulty of the questions, they still scored a 16 for the quarter-final round and won, advancing them to the semi-finals.

All three were nervous as they entered the semi-final. They watched the match that decided their opponent in the semis and the team that won, a team from a small school in Tacoma, was good. When their match came, Helga displayed the first signs of nervousness during the round by picking up her pen and doodling on the blank paper provided by the moderator. During lunch, the lines for a poem started forming in her head. This wasn’t a new phenomenon, but when it happened, she would get it out into one of her pink books. However, she hadn’t brought one and she found not being able to write the poem actually distracted her from the competition. All she could think about during the round was the poem and it was a miracle in her own mind that she was able to answer questions at all.

The round was close, but Phoebe, Arnold, and Helga won by one point advancing them to the finals. A relieved PS118 team joined Mr. Simmons in the audience to watch the other match to see how well those teams did. They did score higher than PS118 did in their round. The moderator announced at the end of the round there would be a half hour break before the Final matchup between Hillwood PS118 and Elk Ridge Elementary School from Buckley. 

Mr. Simmons took his team back to the conference room and their table. He gave them a little pep talk, but all three were nervous. “Look my special students, you are in the finals against thirty-one teams, you got that far! I couldn’t be more proud of you! I have every confidence in you and I know you will win!”

The three felt better, but they were still nervous. Arnold and Phoebe fidgeted in their chairs and didn’t even try to make small talk or anything. They Both wished they had the material to do a cram study session right then. Inside Helga was distraught and completely scrambled. The poem wouldn’t allow her to think of anything else. She couldn’t see any paper anywhere to scribble on. Why, oh why hadn’t she brought her pink book? Why hadn’t she taken one of the pieces of paper from the competition round?

The announcer called for PS118 and Elk Ridge to come to the stage. Phoebe made a sound that resembled a cry and they all got to their feet. Mr. Simmons herded them out of the conference room and to the auditorium. He hugged them all before they climbed up the stairs once again for the final time to take their seats at the table. Fresh paper was handed to them. Helga immediately started to doodle on it.

The moderator went over the rules again, saying this time there would be fifty questions or as many questions as was needed to have a clear winner. For example, if the score was 40 to 20 with ten questions to go and no possible way for the team behind to catch up and win, then the game would be over. 

Helga was nervous and she didn’t want it to show. She had remained calm most of the morning, yet she felt anything but that now. The poem was so dominant in her thoughts. Even as the questions were fired to her team during the semi-final, lines were forming in her head, which made her tension much worse. She cursed herself again for not bringing one of her pink books in with her in order to lasso those words onto paper. Helga had been tempted during the last round they played to get the poem in her head down on the paper provided, but she sternly told herself NO and to pay attention to the game. Arnold sat next to her. What if he saw the poem?

The final round was long and the Elk Ridge team was good. They matched point for point and were even up through thirty questions – each team had 22 points. When a poetry question was asked of the PS118 team, both Arnold and Phoebe looked at her, but all she could think about was the lines of her own poem. She felt horrible, because she should know the answer - the next line of the poem said by the moderator. Frustrated, she couldn’t answer and hated the look of disappointment in her teammates eyes as they couldn’t answer the question.

As the moderator turned to question the other team, Helga angrily pulled the papers she had been doodling on closer to her and quickly scrawled out the words in her head. Once the four verses were on the paper, she felt much better and her mind cleared. She sat back in her seat, flipped the paper over, and folded her hands on the table. She didn’t like the poem, but at least it was out and she was able to concentrate fully on the game. She knew the poem was good, but she still didn’t like it.

Question after question came and now PS118 answered every question right, while Elk Ridge began to falter. Helga’s concentration was fully focused now, which seemed to influence Arnold and Phoebe. With five questions to go, the score was 37 to 32 in PS118’s favor. If Elk Ridge missed the next question and PS118 got their next question, there would be no way for Elk Ridge to win. 

Phoebe, Arnold, and Helga leaned forward as the moderator tossed Elk Ridge their question, which was a literature question. The three Elk Ridge students bent their heads together and Arnold heard Helga whispering the answer under her breath. It wasn’t the answer the Elk Ridge students gave and they were wrong. Helga had been right. Arnold looked at her and smiled proudly, and he was surprised she smiled back. All they had to do was answer this question and they would win.

The moderator reminded the audience of that fact, and the trio looked at him as he pulled out a random card from his stack. “It looks like we have another literature question. In the Shakespearean play, _Much Ado About Nothing_, this character said “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow, than a man swear he loves me.” Who said it?”

Arnold turned to stare at Helga, who had been reading that very same book in between rounds. She looked stunned, then smiled hugely. “It’s Beatrice,” she said in the quiet tone she had been using. Phoebe nodded her agreement.

“Beatrice,” Arnold answered aloud, looking at the moderator.

The man smiled and nodded “Correct! We have a winner! Hillwood PS118!”

The crowd, which was much larger in the auditorium than it had been earlier, cheered for their team. Mr. Simmons ran up on stage. Helga quickly grabbed the paper she had written her poem on, crumpled it up, and shoved it into her skirt pocket, even as the three of them stood. They threw their arms around each other, happy in their victory, Helga and Arnold momentarily forgetting the tension between them. Mr. Simmons also gathered them in for a hug.

* * *

The four were still elated on the car ride home, the trophy nestled in the back seat between Arnold and Helga. The end of the competition had been a whirlwind - getting congratulated by the second place Elk Ridge team, pictures taken for the press releases, presentation of the trophy and their prize money, and being the center of attention of the entire auditorium. The team was tired, but very proud of themselves, and they all seemed much more relaxed on the drive home.

Phoebe and Arnold especially were animatedly discussing all of the rounds. Helga listened quietly with a small smile on her face. She was proud of them and their performance, but she still felt she couldn’t talk to Arnold, so she sat back and stayed silent. About halfway home, she reached a hand into her skirt pocket to check if the crumpled up poem was still there and she felt nothing.

Her heart began to race and she felt panic start to rise. Helga scrambled her hands around her in the seat and on the floor. She grabbed her backpack and ruffled through there.

“Are you alright Helga?” Arnold asked, noticing her panicked look. 

“No!” she cried. “I lost something from my pocket!”

“I’ll help you look,” he offered, while Mr. Simmons helpfully turned on the interior light of the car. 

“Just don’t look at it if you find it,” Helga hissed at him as they looked around the backseat, but the paper wasn’t there.

“Was it valuable?” Mr. Simmons asked, concerned.

“No, not exactly, just something I wrote,” Helga answered, distressed. “I must have dropped it at the student center.”

“I can go back.”

Helga shook her head. “No, it’s ok. I just-I must have dropped it there if it’s not in here. I’m sure it’s thrown away by now. It’s not important. It wasn’t that good anyway.”

“Alright, if you’re sure, Helga,” her teacher said, turning off the interior light.

Helga settled into her seat, arms crossed in front of her. _‘Damn,’_ she thought to herself. _‘I need to be more careful. Crap, if Arnold had seen it…’_

Arnold sat looking at her. She had turned her head again to stare out the window. He was concerned at how upset she seemed. He put his own hand in his jacket pocket and fingered the crumpled up piece of paper he had seen fall from her pocket in the conference room. She had put her hand into her skirt pocket to check on the paper and it fell out when she removed her hand. Helga hadn’t noticed it, but he did. He reached down, picked it up, and was going to give it to her, but he wanted to read it. He had watched her write it during the final round and saw how calmer she was after she wrote. She seemed really distracted through that final round, but after writing whatever she wrote, she focused intently on the game and they won. So Arnold did something that was very un-Arnold-like. He pocketed it.

Arnold felt true pangs of guilt as he sat there in the car. Helga said it wasn’t important, so it should be ok for him to keep it. She was upset, sure, but not so upset that she insisted they go back. He fought with his conscience the rest of the drive. Usually his conscience won, but not this time. His desire to read what she had written was overwhelming him. He knew something was going on with her and he wanted some clue as to what it was.

Mr. Simmons dropped Helga off first, then Phoebe, then finally Arnold. Arnold said goodnight to his teacher, thanking Mr. Simmons again for the congratulations and the opportunity. It took a while for Arnold to get up to his room and go to bed. His grandparents and the boarders were already sitting down for dinner and he joined them. They were all proud of him and Arnold found himself having to tell them all about the entire competition and how Helga had won it for them at the end.

It was late when he got up to his room. He took the crumpled up piece of paper from his pocket and tossed it on his desk before he changed into his pajamas. He finally got to sit at his desk and picked up the ball of paper and pulled it open and tried to smooth it out on his desktop.

Written in Helga’s loopy handwriting between all her unidentifiable doodles was a poem.

_Tear out my heart_  
_ Tears are relief_  
_ We need to part_  
_ Not your belief_

_My soul has starved_  
_ Yours feasts at will_  
_ My heart you carved_  
_ My will you kill_

_I say be gone_  
_ You come and stay_  
_ I am undone_  
_ My heart you play_

_I can’t resist_  
_ You will not leave_  
_ I feel your kiss_  
_ And don’t believe_

That was it. Arnold stared down at the wrinkled paper, his mouth hanging open. He read through it again and was still dumbfounded. Helga wrote this? Just sitting there between answering questions? It rhymed, it made sense, it flowed. He even noticed each line had four syllables. He watched her write it out in the matter of a few minutes. He sat back in his chair and stared unseeing at his room as he thought.

He had no idea Helga could write poetry. And not just write poetry, but write good poetry, even though she herself said it wasn’t very good. _‘Well duh Arnold,’_ he thought to himself. _‘Look how good she was at answering poetry questions. If she knows so much about it, it should be no surprise that she can write it.’_ Arnold looked at the paper and read it again_. ‘I can’t believe this,’_ he thought, then was shot through with guilt. He shouldn’t have taken this and read it. Helga would be so angry if she knew he had this. She had obviously hidden that she could write poetry like that, so he knew that if she knew that he knew, she would be furious.

Then again, she believed the poem lost in the trash heap at South Puget Sound Community College, so she would never know that he had it. That didn’t really ease his guilt, though. He sighed and picked up the paper. Arnold read the short poem once more before tucking it safely in his desk drawer and then went to bed. Sleep took a long time in coming, however, as he wrestled with his guilt and with his main question - was the poem about him?


	6. I Don't Want Him to Know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, about that essay contest...

**Chapter 6 - I Don’t Want Him to Know**

_April_

The phone rang in the empty hallway of the Pataki household. Bob grunted as he got out of his chair and lumbered over to it. “Yeah?” he answered.

“Hello, sir. Is Helga Pataki available?”

“Helga? Yeah hang on.”

He put the phone down and yelled up the stairs. “Helga!”

“You used the right name for once, Bob,” she yelled back.

“No lip girl, phone is for you.”

“Sheesh, keep your hair on. I’m coming.”

She ran down the stairs and grabbed the phone. “Go for Helga,” she said flippantly, expecting it to be Phoebe.

“Hello Miss Pataki, this is George Collins from LTD Publishing.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I represent the magazine, Travel Frontiers.”

Her heart started racing. This has to be about the contest. Maybe she got fourth place or something. “Yes, Travel Frontiers,” she repeated.

“You entered our essay contest, Miss Pataki, and it is very much my great pleasure to inform you that you have won.”

She was speechless and she felt her heart had stopped. 

“Miss Pataki?”

“Yes, yes, I’m here,” she gasped. “I’m just…wow…”

Mr. Collins chuckled on the other end of the phone. “Congratulations. It was a remarkable entry. We were all quite moved by it on the selection committee. There were quite a few tears as a matter of fact. I can tell you over three thousand entries were judged.”

“I can’t. I just can’t believe this!” she cried.

“Believe it. You have won a trip to Central America for your class. Anywhere you want to go.” he said pleasantly. 

“San Lorenzo. I choose San Lorenzo!” she blurted out.

“San…Lorenzo?” Mr. Collins asked hesitantly. “I’ve never heard….”

“It’s important to me,” she insisted. 

“Oh, ok. Well, I’m sure it can be arranged,“ he assured her.

She sighed happily. “Good.”

“I will visit your school to meet you, your teacher, and principal this week so that we can award the prize and also work out the details of the trip.”

“Wait, wait,” she said, realizing that Arnold would find out she had won this for him. Her heart felt like it stopped again and she started panicking. “No, no. I-I don’t want anyone to know it was me that won.”

“But, Miss Pataki,” Mr. Collins said, confused. “This is really a great honor. You won a national contest. Your writing…it’s just…”

“I can’t let anyone know I won!” she cried.

“Why?”

“It’s just-it’s just personal,” she said weakly. She thought for a second and finally said. “I won this for someone. I don’t want him to know.”

Mr. Collins paused for a moment and finally said, “If you wish, Miss Pataki.”

“I still have won, haven’t I?” she asked in a small voice. “I just want to remain anonymous.”

“Of course, of course. We can respect your wishes. I will still come to the school and speak to the principal and your teacher however.”

She thought a moment. “Ok. That’s ok.”

She discussed a few more details with him and he promised to get in touch soon.

* * *

_Three days later_

“Do you know what this meeting is about?” Mr. Simmons asked as he settled down in one of the two chairs in front of Principal Wartz’ desk. 

The principal shook his head. “Some publishing company. Something about a student of yours winning an essay contest. He wasn’t very specific.”

Mr. Simmons beamed. “One of mine won a contest?”

“Yep. He didn’t say which one, though.”

“I wonder why he needs to speak to us.”

There was a brief knock on the door and Mr. Collins entered after Wartz barked a “Come in”. He was a young man in his late twenties, athletic looking with brown hair, dark blue eyes and receding hairline. He wore a trim dark blue suit and carried a briefcase. He smiled at the two men inside. 

“George Collins,” he said by way of introduction, and gave Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz each a warm handshake. “Assistant Vice President of Marketing at LTD Publishing.”

Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz introduced themselves and Wartz invited Mr. Collins to have a seat next to Mr. Simmons. 

“So, what can we do for you, Mr. Collins?” Wartz asked.

“Please, call me George,” he replied amiably. “I’m here to congratulate you, Mr. Wartz, and especially you, Mr. Simmons. We publish a monthly magazine called Travel Frontiers. In that magazine, we held a national essay contest and one of your students won out of over three thousand entries.”

Mr. Simmons and Wartz looked at each other with surprise that turned to pride. “They have?”

“Oh yes, and won your class, Mr. Simmons, a trip to San Lorenzo in Central America.”

“A class trip?” Mr. Simmons gasped. 

“All expenses paid. San Lorenzo was chosen by the winner as the destination. The contest was to anywhere in Central America that the winner chose.”

“Where’s San Lorenzo?” Wartz asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s a small region in Costa Rica, mostly a little village in the middle of nowhere. Isolated, but quite modern. Use solar power and wind power, should be a good learning experience for your class. We had a tough time arranging transport to it, but we managed to come up with something. We will just need to discuss a time frame to go and, of course, get the permission of parents, etc.” Mr. Collins said. “There is a lot of planning to come, but in the end, you’ll be spending two weeks in San Lorenzo.” He chuckled. “I know this is quite a surprise I’m springing on you, and I don’t have much time today, but I will be back later this week to thoroughly discuss the plans.”

Mr. Simmons stared at Mr. Collins. “This is. Just incredible.”

“And a credit to you, Mr. Simmons. This essay was beyond anything we expected.”

“Well, who won?” Wartz demanded.

Mr. Collins looked at him, then at Mr. Simmons. “Alas, I cannot reveal that. The student asked to remain anonymous.”

“What!?” Wartz boomed. “Anonymous? Why?”

“The student said they had personal reasons to remain anonymous, and personal reasons to choose San Lorenzo. Said it was very important to go there.” Mr. Collins spread his hands. “I’m not sure what those reasons are, to be honest. I tried to talk the student into letting us honor and recognize them, but they were adamant.”

Mr. Simmons and Wartz looked at each other for a long time. “Well,” Wartz finally drawled. “I thank you, George. This is a wonderful opportunity for the students.”

Mr. Collins smiled. “I have a meeting with a local travel agency in a little bit, so I need to run. They’ll be handling all the arrangements for us.” He hauled the briefcase onto his lap and opened it. After rummaging for a moment, he brought out two stapled papers. “I just wanted to come and inform you first, and give you a copy of the essay. I’ll be joining you on the trip, along with a writer from the magazine. Here is a copy of the essay. Maybe you can figure out the student yourself.” He suggested. “We will publish this in our next issue. It was supposed to be accompanied by a feature about the student, but…” he shrugged.

He handed a copy of the essay to each Mr. Simmons and Principal Wartz, as well as his card. “Here, enjoy. I think you will both find it as remarkable as we did. Once the committee read this we all wanted to stop reading the others. We knew we wouldn’t find anything better,” he chuckled. “Please don’t show it to anyone else.” He snapped the briefcase shut and stood. He shook hands once more, said his goodbyes, and left.

Mr. Simmons and Wartz looked at each other again, taken aback by this short meeting. 

“There’s plenty of time until lunch period ends. I think we should read this,” Mr. Simmons suggested.

Both men turned their attentions to the essay in their hands. After about ten minutes of reading, they finished and looked at each other again, both with awed expressions, and both had to wipe at teary eyes.

“One of your students wrote this?” Wartz asked in wonder after blowing his nose with his handkerchief. “Robert, this is extraordinary.”

Mr. Simmons slowly nodded. “I can think of only one student who could have written this,” he said.

“Who?”

“Helga Pataki.”

“Helga? Really? Hmm,” Wartz murmured, looking at the essay again. “I could see that.”

“This is her style, her voice. She is the only one, other than Arnold or Phoebe, who could have written anything capable of winning a writing contest, but Arnold and Phoebe don’t write this passionately. Helga is an extraordinary writer - a very intense and emotional writer.”

“Why would she want to remain anonymous? And why this San Lorenzo place?” 

Mr. Simmons spread his hands helplessly. “I have no idea but I’m going to try and find out.”

* * *

The meeting had been over the lunch period, so when Mr. Simmons was back in his classroom he waited until all the students filed back in and took their seats. He started waving his arms in the air.

“Everyone! Everyone! I have some exciting news!”

There were a few groans from the class. They knew his exciting news usually meant a new crazy class project.

“Travel Frontiers magazine has informed us that a student in **our** class has won their national essay writing contest!”

There were a few ohs and impressed whistles at that.

“Over three thousand entries and one of our students won! Isn’t that exciting, class!?” He looked at all of them, but especially Helga. Her poker face impressed him.

“Yeah!“ echoed around the class.

“And the exciting part is the prize. Your classmate has won us a two week trip to Central America!”

“What!?”

“No way!?”

“Cool!”

The kids cried out their excitement.

“Where in Central America?” Sheena asked.

“A little place called San Lorenzo!” he said and heard a gasp. He looked over at Gerald and Arnold and noticed Arnold’s shocked look and Gerald staring at his friend. That really puzzled the teacher.

Instead of saying anything, Mr. Simmons turned to the maps to pull down the map of the Americas. “Oh, it’s so exciting,” he said, pointing to the area near Costa Rica. “Rainforest…should be quite beautiful…”

“Wow! The rainforest!”

“That’s going to be so awesome!”

“But Mr. Simmons!” called Rhonda. “You didn’t tell us who won!”

Mr. Simmons returned his attention back to the class. “Oh, well, no I didn’t. The student wishes to remain anonymous,” he answered simply, looking over each one of them. “And I think we should respect his or her wishes.”

This was a shock to the kids. Everyone started talking at once, asking each other if they knew who, or if the person they were asking was the writer. No one fessed up, of course.

“Man, you didn’t tell me,” Gerald chided Arnold, with a grin.

Arnold returned his smile with a blank look. “Gerald it wasn’t me.”

“Mmm hmm,” Gerald drawled. “Just happened that an essay to win a trip to exactly where your parents might be was won by _someone_ in our class and it wasn’t you? Come on Arnold.”

“Gerald, I swear that I didn’t write any essay.”

“Dude, come on. You’re a good writer. You had to have done it.”

“Honestly Gerald, you know I would tell you. I don’t lie. I never wrote an essay.”

“Then who did?”

* * *

In spite of Mr. Simmons trying to continue on with teaching the class for the rest of the day, it was of no use. All the kids could talk about was this mystery writer. No one claimed the win and every one of them denied it. 

After school they all met at Gerald’s Field to play baseball, as usual, but no one wanted to play. 

“Come on, guys,” Helga complained. “We came here to play ball.”

She had interrupted Rhonda’s speculation on the writer, which irritated Rhonda, who turned her attention on the angry blond. “Well, you get good grades in English, Helga,” Rhonda said with a smirk. “Maybe you wrote it?”

Phoebe looked at Helga, as did everyone else, but Phoebe actually knew the truth. She was curious how Helga would handle this.

Helga scoffed. “Me? I wouldn’t waste my time on some stupid contest. All it gets us is two weeks in a jungle full of bugs and weird animals.” 

“Whatever, Helga. What’s in San Lorenzo that’s so important to you?”

She hesitated, willing herself not to look at Arnold. “Nothing,” she declared, glaring at Rhonda. “Now can you shut your trap and play ball?” She didn’t notice Arnold’s frown, but Phoebe did.

Rhonda ignored her to accuse someone else.

Irritated that no one wanted to play, Helga gestured to Phoebe and the two of them left.

“Why don’t you just say you wrote it, Helga?” Phoebe asked, once they were far enough away from the field and the other kids.

“I can’t Phoebe. I just can’t. If Arnold found out,” she shrugged. “It would be weird for him, I think. Besides, it’s being published and I poured everything I have into that essay. It’d be too embarrassing if people knew that I wrote it.”

“But Helga, it was a beautiful essay. I’ve never read anything like it.”

“Thanks Pheebs, but still. I just can’t. Arnold can never know. So please forget it.”

“Forgetting,” Phoebe said in a sad tone.


	7. You'd Help Me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Simmons gets the truth from Helga. The essay is published and they prepare for the trip...while Arnold’s suspicions grow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've heard it said many times about Helga's character that she is her own worst enemy. She truly is. She also believes that no one will ever know she wrote the essay, but not everyone is as clueless as she could hope they would be :) Enjoy!

**Chapter 7 - You’d Help Me?**

Helga slowly packed her backpack, to make it look as if she wasn’t waiting to speak to Mr. Simmons. He requested she stay after school to talk to her, and with the speculation of the entire class about the author of the essay still going strong two weeks later, she didn’t want to raise suspicion with any of her classmates – especially the sharp eyed Rhonda.

The class emptied, no one except Phoebe noticed that Helga hadn’t left. Helga waited nervously at her desk.

Mr. Simmons finally looked up from the papers on his desk and smiled at her. 

“Is something wrong?” she demanded.

“No, of course not, Helga,” Mr. Simmons responded mildly. 

“Why’d I have to stay then?”

“I want to ask you about the essay.”

She blinked. “The essay? What essay?”

“The contest essay,” he replied patiently.

“What about it?”

“Helga, I’ve been reading your work for almost two years. I know your writing. I know your expression and style. The contest essay couldn’t have been written by anyone but you.”

She didn’t reply, just scowled at him.

“Why do you want to remain anonymous?”

“I didn’t say I wrote it.”

“Helga, dear, contrary to popular belief, your teacher is not that dumb,” he joked.

She almost smiled. “I just don’t want people to know.”

“But why? The essay is quite moving and beautiful.”

She huffed. “That’s just it. I don’t want people knowing that about me.”

He thought for a moment. “Alright, Helga. I can respect that,” he said, earning him a grateful look from the normally abrasive girl. 

“Thank you,” she said, looking down at her desktop.

“Why did you enter then?”

The question surprised her and she wasn’t prepared to answer it. She kept her eyes steady on her desk and crossed her arms over her chest.

“And why San Lorenzo?”

“I-I can’t really say,” she answered dully. “It’s personal is all.”

He watched her for a few minutes and finally asked, “Why did Arnold react so strongly when I mentioned San Lorenzo?”

This shocked her and her mouth dropped open.

“Wh-what do you mean?” she squeaked out.

“Arnold looked completely shocked when I said San Lorenzo. As a matter of fact, Gerald audibly gasped and stared at Arnold as if the place meant something to him. Mr. Collins said the student said it was very important to go there.”

Helga was finally able to look up at her teacher. He was surprised at how sad she looked. It took her a long time to answer while Mr. Simmons patiently waited. “It is,” she said in a small voice.

“Can you tell me why Helga?”

She sighed. “You’ll probably find out anyway,” she said, her expression turning angry. “You can’t say anything to Arnold though.”

“Of course not, Helga. You can trust me.”

“Arnold’s parents might be in San Lorenzo.”

Mr. Simmons looked surprised. “So, you won this contest to help him find his parents?”

She covered her face with her hands. “Yes, and he can’t ever know that.”

“Was your essay about Arnold?” he asked gently, thinking not only of her essay, but of her poetry assignments as well.

She groaned behind her hands, but didn’t answer. He took it as a yes. She didn’t see Mr. Simmons’ smile.

“Helga, that is a wonderful thing to do for someone you care about.”

“I can’t let him know. He doesn’t like me.”

“I don’t know about that Helga. Why would you say that?”

“I just know.”

Mr. Simmons looked at her for a moment. “Alright, Helga. I won’t say anything to Arnold. However, he is a pretty smart young man. He may figure it out himself. I won’t be able to lie to him if he directly asks me if it was you.”

“He won’t think to ask,” she said. “He never thinks of me.”

“In that, I think you’re mistaken,” her teacher said, but didn’t bother to explain what he meant. “If you do want to talk about anything, I’m here. You may go.”

She ran out of the class.

* * *

_Two weeks later_

“Class! Class!” Mr. Simmons beamed at them as they took their seats after the morning bell. “I’m sure you all remember that we are going to San Lorenzo soon.”

They all laughed.

“Well, the publishing company sent us a stack of magazines - enough for every one of us to have a copy so we can read the beautiful essay that won us the trip!”

The class erupted into enthusiastic cries and cheers. Mr. Simmons had said many times over the past month to them that it was one of the best things he had ever read and that he would even rank it up against some of the top essayists in history. He also said that it moved him to tears every time he read it. That elicited some jeers, of course, but the class was eager to read it when it came out, and now they were getting their own copy.

“The top ten essays are in there, but of course, your classmate’s essay is first,” Mr. Simmons said, handing out the magazines to each one of the students. As the magazine was handed to them, they tore through it searching for the essay. Helga and Phoebe also put on a good show of eagerly looking for it.

The class fell so silent you could hear a pin drop as everyone read through the essay. 

Until there was a sniffle from Rhonda. Then another from a different part of the room. And another.

_‘Oh crap if everyone cries, I’m going to have to muster up some tears, or they’ll know it’s me,’_ Helga thought in a slight panic. She was squirming in her seat, trying to control her blush. She kept her head down, forehead resting on an upraised palm in order to hide her face. She snuck a look at Phoebe beside her, who gave her a sympathetic smile, before turning to the page to read the essay again.

Looking at the rest of the class, through splayed fingers, she was surprised to see all the girls wiping at their eyes, and even some of the boys. The ones not actively wiping their tears were hiding their eyes or had glistening eyes, and looked as if they were about to cry. She could barely see Arnold’s face, but saw that his cheeks were wet. She couldn’t believe her whole class was crying over something she wrote.

_‘I need to cry,’_ she thought desperately and tried to think hard about Arnold and how he didn’t love her, and about what she wrote - how one would do anything for a pure and true love, no matter the consequence and no matter if the love wasn’t returned. She was able to create a few tears, which greatly relieved her. She knew Rhonda would have been suspicious if even the hard-hearted Pataki couldn’t shed tears over this.

Mr. Simmons gave them a few more minutes before saying softly, “I think we can all see why this essay won.”

The class murmured a subdued agreement.

“And, I think,” he said pointedly, with the briefest of glances at Rhonda, “we can see why the author might want to be anonymous. While I am not sure this is written from personal experience or not - as it’s written with a certain level of maturity and understanding - this is a very raw and emotional piece. Whoever wrote the essay, and I wasn’t told who, deserves the privacy.”

There were nods along with the blowing of noses.

“And our thanks for sharing this with us.”

* * *

_Later that Evening_

Arnold sat on his bed, staring up through the skylight of his room, looking at the stars appearing in the darkening April night. The open Travel Frontiers magazine sat on his lap, open to the page featuring the winning essay. Something about this essay had grabbed hold of his heart and wouldn’t let go. It was more than the fact that the essay was beautifully written and messed with ones’ emotions. Something about it spoke directly to him. He couldn’t get it out of his head, especially since it won the trip that might help him find his parents. His mind was whirling as he tried to figure out who wrote it.

The essay was so. Just plain amazing. He didn’t realize anyone in his class could write something like that. Mr. Simmons said many times over the past couple of weeks that the essay was extraordinary, but Arnold wasn’t prepared to read something like this.

He looked down at the magazine in his lap. He picked out phrases in the essay as he glanced over it and was surprised that anyone in his class even knew some of the words used. He could only think of a handful of his friends who might know most of these words, but if those friends could write something so emotional, it was a surprise to him, except maybe…

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. The door opened and his grandfather peered in.

“You ok, Short Man? You’ve been pretty quiet today?”

“I’m ok, Grandpa,” he replied, still looking at the magazine. “Just thinking.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“This,” Arnold said, holding up the edge of the magazine. “We got a copy of that essay that won us the trip.”

“Oh, can I see it?” the old man asked curiously, coming in and perching on the side of Arnold’s bed.

“Sure, Grandpa,” the boy said, handing over the magazine. “I’ll warn you, Grandpa, it’s pretty intense.”

The room was quiet as his grandfather read through the essay. Arnold watched the old man as he read, amused at the tears that flowed freely after only the first few paragraphs. The essay had affected Arnold just as strongly and he blushed a little at the thought that he was crying at school, but then, so was everyone else, so he didn’t feel too embarrassed.

“Wow, Arnold. You weren’t kidding about this,” Phil said, handing the magazine back reluctantly. He felt incredibly sad, yet also somewhat hopeful. He couldn’t believe this was written by a child Arnold’s age. 

Arnold stared down at the essay again, looking hard at the introduction.

_“The Winning Essay: The National Essay Writing Contest for grade school/junior high awarded us this beautiful essay from a fifth grader in Hillwood, WA. The essay, entitled “For Love” was written by a ten-year-old student at PS118 in Hillwood, in Mr. Robert Simmons’ class. The student wished to remain anonymous, but has our deepest thanks for sharing such a profound piece with us.”_

That “Anonymous”; he stared so hard at it as if staring would suddenly reveal the name behind the writing. His grandfather watched him silently.

“I can’t figure out who wrote it, Grandpa,” he finally said sadly. “It’s driving me crazy.”

“Why do you want to know, Arnold?”

Arnold looked up. “Well, they won this trip. I may find information about Mom and Dad. Whoever did this…” he trailed off, looking down again, “I owe everything to them.”

“Well, Arnold,” Phil began, patting his grandson’s leg. “There arent that many kids in your class. Think about each of them one at a time. One of them probably fits the bill. Not everyone in your class is a good writer, I imagine.” Phil had an idea of who the author was, but he decided to let Arnold figure it out for himself.

“True, but I don’t know who is. We never really see each other’s work.”

“I’m sure if you think about it,” Phil said, creaking as he stood up, putting his hand to his back. “Oo, I need to head to my office, Short Man,” he said, patting Arnold on the head and making the boy laugh before he left the room.

“Who are you?” Arnold said aloud, lifting the magazine again and looking at the essay. He couldn’t help but start reading it again. As he did, tears gathered in his eyes and needed to stop for a moment to wipe at his eyes. He said in an amused tone, “No matter how many times I read this, it gets me every time.”

He put the magazine down again and thought about his grandfather’s suggestion. Think about each class member. He slid off the bed and carried the magazine over to his desk and pulled out his class picture. There weren’t really that many kids, so this should be easy to at least think about them. Besides himself there were 19 kids.

He looked at the picture, thinking hard about each of them. Gerald insisted it wasn’t him and Arnold highly doubted Harold could have written something like that. There were quite a few possibilities among the names, however. There were a few kids he wasn’t that close to, so he wasn’t sure if they could write well or not. 

As he looked at each picture, he thought about what he knew about each of them. One of the last pictures was Helga’s, as the pictures were in alphabetical order, and he sat back in his chair as he thought about her. He had to admit that out of all of the names, hers was the strongest possibility. He had thought of her at first, but the essay was just so emotional. He knew she got good grades in English - her performance at the Academic bowl proved that. English did involve a lot of writing and vocabulary. He often saw her scribbling away in her notebooks. He was unsure of what she was writing, but she did it so much that she must enjoy it at least. Always in those pink books. He blinked, his eyes jumping up to the top of his bookshelf. 

“Geez, I’m so dense,” he said to himself, then laughed. He retrieved the book of poetry he found a couple of years ago, wiped off the thick layer of dust, and brought it back to his desk to thumb through it. It was her that wrote this poetry Arnold had found. It had to be. It must have been why she ripped out the last page. It probably identified her in some way. He hadn’t thought about this book in a long time. Then he remembered something and pulled open his desk drawer and dug out the poem Helga had written at the Academic Bowl. He positioned it next to the open pink book. The writing matched, allowing for the couple of years since the pink book had been written, right down to the purple ink on both of the papers. He ignored the small skip in his heart when he realized it.

Arnold knew the poems in the pink book were about him. Most had either his name in them or described him in some way, and they were all basically love poems. The poem he stole from her was, however, quite a different tone, but just as intense and emotional. Its’ tone was much sadder and heartbroken. ‘_My will you kill_’ and ‘_I don’t believe_’. Those were lost-sounding phrases.

Arnold knew, then, the whole FTI thing wasn’t heat of the moment. Helga really did like him. Or she had. He steered away from the other “L” word for the moment. He didn’t really think she hated him, but the way she had acted lately, he wasn’t sure. Now he was positive that she said the truth that morning. He read a random poem in the book and then read the stolen poem again. They did have the same intense emotions as the essay.

But if she really felt that way, why had she not spoken to him for so long? _‘Does she not like me anymore?’_ She said some pretty intense things on the roof last year. What she said could not just be heat of the moment and he knew that, even as he let her take it back. He just didn’t know how to handle it then. Thinking it over now, he liked the idea that she liked him so much. It was nice to be the one who someone had a crush on, not the other way around. And the kiss - he really did like it. Did that mean he liked her-liked her in return? He thought so, with the way he was acting and how frustrated he was with her avoidance and disappearing acts.

He looked back at the essay. “But did Helga write this?” he asked aloud. “And why?”

* * *

_The day before the trip_

It was Saturday and the class was leaving the next day for San Lorenzo. Arnold had gone to the store to get a few last minute things and was walking toward his home. As he turned the corner to the street in which Phoebe lived, he saw Helga come out her friends’ door and hop down the stoop. _‘Perfect…’_ he thought. ‘_Maybe I can get some answers…_’

“Hey Helga!” he called, noticing that Helga seemed to wince when she heard him say her name.

“Oh, hey Arnold”

She waited until he caught up. “Walking home?” He had an odd feeling of déjà vu.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll walk with you for a bit.”

“Um, ok”

They started walking up the street in silence. Arnold looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She looked pensive and upset and lost in her own thoughts and he tried to think of a way to broach the subject of the essay and FTi.

“Everything alright?” he asked.

“Hmm?” she came back to herself. “Oh yeah, I’m ok.”

“Are you excited to leave tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“I can’t wait.”

She just looked at him.

“You know, cause of my parents.”

She didn’t look surprised; she only smiled slightly, though her eyes still looked a little sad. “That’s right. That’s where your parents might be.”

He smiled back and nodded, pleased she remembered about San Lorenzo. “I hope so at least. I hope I’m able to look for them, or at least find out something about them.”

“I don’t see why you couldn’t,” she said, then hesitated, looking as if she wanted to say something else. “You know, Arnold, if-if you want help,” she suggested, leaving it hanging.

“You’d help me?”

“Of course.”

“Thanks Helga! I’ll take you up on that.” He was surprised. After having not really spoken to him for over a year, her offer of helping him came unexpected, though he sincerely appreciated it.

They continued to walk, falling into silence for a block, until he broke it.

“I wish I knew who wrote the essay,” he said, hoping to surprise her into admitting it was her, if it was.

However, she just looked at him again. “Why?”

“To thank them!” he said a little forcefully. “They don’t even know what they’ve done for me. I still can’t believe it!”

She shrugged, “Well if you find out anything about your parents and the rest of the class finds out, I’m sure they’ll know how much this meant to you,” she said.

“True,” he said, nodding his head. “You don’t have any idea who it is do you?”

She seemed taken aback by the question. She didn’t answer right away, as if she were trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to say. In all honesty, she hated to lie to him, but she couldn’t tell him the truth. Part of her was a little hurt that he didn’t consider she had done it. She finally said. “I have an idea but I don’t want to say. The person wanted to remain anonymous and I’m not a gossip like Rhonda.”

He turned his head to fully look at her, but she was looking ahead in the direction they were walking, her expression blank. “No, you’re not like Rhonda,” he agreed. If she had written the essay, she was good at hiding it. Maybe he was mistaken. If Helga suspected someone, it might be Phoebe, though he had no reason to think that Phoebe could write that emotionally. The way Helga hesitated to answer, however, almost convinced him that he was right. 

They got to the corner for the turn off to Arnold’s house and they both stopped.

“Well I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” Helga said.

“Yeah! I can’t wait,” he said, smiling up at her.

She briefly returned the smile, but he noticed once again how sad her eyes looked before she turned away to continue down the block toward her house. He watched her for a few minutes before turning down the other way.

_‘I think she wrote that essay. I have no idea why she wants to hide it, but it had to be her,’_ he thought to himself. He turned the corner to his street and thought then about the whole FTi thing_. ‘She hasn’t looked happy since then. Why should she be sad? Does she still like me or not? Why would she avoid me if she still likes me? I definitely need to get her to talk to me more. Grandpa did say that at some point I might need to be aggressive about this and I think now is the time. I’m going to try and talk to her more.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, we all know Arnold is somewhat dense. His denseness helps my story, though, so I tend to exaggerate it. I will point out something I didn't make clear in the story however. Mr. Simmons knows that the essay winner chose San Lorenzo as the destination. The rest of the class (except Helga and Phoebe of course) do NOT know this. They all think that the prize was a trip to San Lorenzo...not that it was a chosen destination.


	8. You Remind Me of Holden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're going to San Lorenzo!

**Chapter 8 - You Remind Me of Holden**

“Class…class…everyone…pay attention,“ Mr. Simmons called them all together. They had arrived at the airport at the awful hour of 4am and stood yawning in a small group around Mr. Simmons, Mr. Collins and his reporter, Jay.

Mr. Simmons handed out the plane tickets to all the kids. “We have a 5-hour flight to Miami, then a shorter flight to Costa Rica,” he explained. “I hope that everyone brought something to occupy themselves on the flight,” he joked.

Helga and Phoebe compared their tickets. “At least it looks like we are sitting next to each other Helga,” Phoebe said.

“Good. Simmons got something right.”

“Oh Helga.”

“Kidding, Pheebs.”

When they boarded the plane they saw that it was a small plane with two seats on each side of the aisle.

“Good. No one to bug me,” Helga said, grinning at Phoebe. “Except you.”

Phoebe giggled. “Bugging!” she chimed out, making Helga laugh.

Phoebe was given the window seat of their row, while Helga had the aisle. As she buckled her seatbelt, she noticed Gerald settling into the window seat directly across the aisle from her which meant, yes, Arnold was in the aisle seat, right next to her. She sighed. Simmons got her a seat next to Phoebe, but put Arnold right next to her on the other side of the aisle. She had a brief mental image of strangling her teacher. She knew he did this on purpose.

She turned to Phoebe. “Can I have the window seat?” she whispered.

Phoebe looked at her, then noticed Arnold, and did something Helga did not expect. “Oh, I’m sorry Helga. I love the window seat. I think I would like to stay in it.” Then she giggled, making Helga grind her teeth in frustration. 

Helga slumped in her seat with her arms crossed over her chest. Arnold looked at her with a curious expression. _ ‘Why does she look so angry?’ _he thought as he stuck his headphones on his head to listen to music.

The plane taxied down the runway and rose into the air. When the captain announced that they had reached cruising altitude and the flight attendants started down the aisle, Helga yanked a book out of her backpack and settled back into her seat, flipped to her bookmark, and let herself get lost in the story.

Arnold watched her out of the corner of his eye for about half an hour, amused at the expression of concentration on her face and the fact that she was actually half-smiling while reading. Curious, he pulled off his headphones and, thinking about his resolution to talk to her more and not about to give up this chance, leaned slightly closer to her across the aisle. “What are you reading?” he asked, startling her out of her reading trance.

“Um,uh, _Catcher in the Rye,_” she replied a little disjointedly.

His eyebrows lifted. “We aren’t supposed to read that until high school, I thought.”

She smirked. “Yeah, well I’m reading it now. It’s my favorite book.” She looked away as she said that. _‘Don’t talk to him,’_ she thought to herself. _‘Why are you telling him it’s your favorite book?’_

“It is?” he asked, interested. “I don’t even know what it’s about, really.”

Helga toyed with the page she was currently on, still looking down at the book. “Basically it’s about a teenager who gets kicked out of boarding school and spends a couple of days in New York City trying to figure himself out.” ‘_Stop this Helga!’_ she yelled at herself in her head.

Arnold thought for a minute. “It sounds good.”

“It is. I’ve read it a dozen times.” She still had not looked back at him. She couldn’t help herself from answering his questions, though inside she continued to mentally yell at herself.

“Wow. If it’s so good, I should get it and read it too.”

That actually got a chuckle out of her, surprising him. “I don’t know if you can handle it, Football Head.”

The use of her nickname for him surprised him, because he couldn’t remember hearing it from her in over a year. It made him smile.

“Not handle it?” he asked amused.

“There’s a lot of bad words in it,” she said. “Holden swears constantly and there are some other adult types of things. You’re an innocent guy.”

He laughed. “Oh come on, it can’t be that bad. Who is Holden?”

“The main character. He’s an angsty, cynical teen, sometimes mean, sometimes phony, vulnerable, smart, sweet, loving.” Then she surprised him by adding as an afterthought, “I can really relate to him.” _‘Criminy did I say that out loud?’_ she thought, mentally smacking herself_. ‘How does he _do_ this to me?’_

Arnold didn’t say anything for a few moments, “Well if you recommend it, I’ll give it a try.”

She finally did look over at him. Her eyes were still sad, but also curious. “Alright,” she replied, closing the book and handing it over to him across the aisle. “Try it on for size.”

He took the book, but said, “I can’t take this, you're reading it.”

She shrugged. “I’ve read it a lot and I brought other books. If you don’t like the first couple of chapters, give it back.” She turned from him to dig out another book from her bag. Once she pulled one out, she stuck her nose in the new book and ignored him.

Gerald had silently watched the whole exchange. Arnold sat there holding the book and looking at it.

“What was all that?” Gerald asked in a whisper that Helga couldn’t hear.

“Huh?”

“All that with Pataki?”

“What do you mean?”

“Talking books with her? Man, come on.”

“What’s wrong with it Gerald?” Arnold whispered back.

“It’s just…weird man”

“Why?”

“It just is.”

“Helga is intelligent, Gerald. She reads a lot. I was curious what she was reading is all.”

“Mmm hmm. This is Pataki we’re talking about. Helga Pataki.”

Arnold rolled his eyes. “So?“

“The meanest girl in the school?”

“She’s not the meanest Gerald. She’s not even really mean anymore.“ Gerald could hear the angry tone in Arnold’s whisper.

“Whatever you say, Arnold. I’m not buying it.”

Arnold shook his head and opened the book, thumbing to the first chapter. Gerald leaned over to read as well.

“What are you doing?”

“I wanna read too. Bad words, a character Helga relates to? I’m in.”

Arnold shook his head again. “Whatever Gerald.”

* * *

The plane touched down in Miami and Mr. Simmons, Mr. Collins, and Jay herded all the kids through the airport to their other gate. Helga tried her best to avoid Arnold. He didn’t really speak to her the rest of the flight to Miami. He instead kept his nose buried in the book she loaned him. At one point, she pulled her attention away from her new novel in order to watch him out of the corner of her eye. He seemed caught up in the story, as far as she could tell, and she smirked to herself thinking of how he might react to some of the scenes in the book.

Once they were out of the plane and she could avoid him, she tried. She followed behind Phoebe as the class straggled through the airport to the next terminal and gate, and sat next to her best friend to wait to board the plane, which would be in about 90 minutes.

She was leaning over the arm of her seat whispering to Phoebe about her conversation with Arnold, as Phoebe had asked her what it was all about, when she felt someone sit in the seat on the other side of her. The hair on the back of her neck prickled and she didn’t need to turn to see who it was. She could tell by the smug look on Phoebe’s face. 

“Well, Mr. Simmons did not assign these seats,” Phoebe whispered.

Helga scowled at Phoebe, who giggled.

“Fine, I won’t tell you,” she hissed quietly, breaking off her story.

“Oh, Helga,” Phoebe said, looking only slightly contrite.

She sat back, looking ahead of her and definitely not looking toward her right side.

“Hey Helga,” she heard next to her in that soft voice that made her insides melt.

In spite of herself, she glanced at him, not realizing her eyes were expressing their fear of him, which made Arnold pause in surprise.

“What?” she asked, somewhat flatly.

“I-I just wanted to thank you for lending me that book. I’m really enjoying it,” he said.

“Oh, uh, that’s good. I’m glad,” she said looking away from him.

“I can see why you like it,” he added.

She glanced again sharply at him, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

“You remind me of Holden.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that. Holden was a complex character, so she wasn’t sure how Arnold meant that. She didn’t say anything, just pressed her lips together and looked confusedly at him.

“You know, putting on a false front so people think one thing but actually being a good-hearted and sensitive person underneath it all.” He watched her carefully to see how his words affected her. 

Her eyes widened and she bit back an insulting retort. He was always saying things like that, which she usually brushed off or contradicted. However, now that she had confessed her feelings to him and showed him her good side that she did keep hidden, she felt like she couldn’t say anything back to him. 

He knew he had said enough, so Arnold merely smiled his half smile at her before turning to tell Gerald, who was sitting on his other side, something.

She stared at him for a minute before looking away_. ‘Why does he always do this to me? I don’t want to get hurt again…’ _she thought, upset. She felt the prick of tears in her eyes and was furious with herself. She was not going to cry in front of him or any of her classmates.

“Phoebe? Want to go look through the stores?” she asked.

Phoebe was surprised. Helga wasn’t someone who liked to do that, but she saw how upset her friend looked. “Of course, Helga,” she said, standing up.

Helga stood up too and threw her backpack onto her seat. Arnold looked at her as she stood, smugly pleased that he had rattled her. “I’ll watch your and Phoebe’s stuff,” he offered.

She just made a vague sound and stalked off.

* * *

“What was all that about?” Phoebe asked as they wandered through one of the gift shops down the terminal from their gate.

“Arnold. I don’t know what he’s doing,” she gritted out angrily.

“What did he do?”

“He’s just-just talking to me,” Helga said helplessly.

Phoebe looked at her confused. “Talking to you is bad?”

“I don’t want to talk to him!” Helga cried. “I wish he’d leave me alone!”

“But Helga,” Phoebe said in a low voice, “you love Arnold.”

Helga reached up and yanked at one of her ponytails and looked around the store to make sure no one was near them. “I don’t want to Phoebe,” she answered quietly. “I’m trying to not like him. It only hurts me, so I want to stop.”

“You cannot help how you feel Helga,” Phoebe protested.

“I want to, though.”

“Well you can’t. You have liked him for a long time. You just cannot turn your feelings off like that,” Phoebe reasoned, snapping her fingers. “What did he say to you?”

Helga told her.

Phoebe thought for a moment. “Helga, did you ever think the reason he is talking to you so much now is that he likes you?”

Helga snorted. “No Phoebe. I know it’s not that. He must be trying to hurt me to get back at me for picking on him for so long.”

Phoebe shook her head. “No that is not it. Arnold is not like that. He is never deliberately mean.” She shrugged, “What he said, comparing you to Holden, is actually pretty spot on. You have told me before he has said similar things at other times. I think he is seeing you Helga. The real you. The one I know exists. The one I keep telling you to show more. I think it is a good thing.”

Helga shook her head.

“Look, you have changed since what happened at FTi, Helga.” She ignored the surprised look from her friend. “You think in your mind you are still the same tough and mean Helga Pataki. You do not realize you have not been her for a long time.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have not seen you pick on anyone. I have not seen you threaten anyone, shove anyone, all year. You have not, most noticeably, done one thing to Arnold since April Fool’s Day **last** year,” Phoebe explained.

Helga blinked a few times, realizing Phoebe was right.

“Are you still writing poems about Arnold?” Phoebe asked.

Helga nodded. “Sort of,” she admitted. “Most of my poems now, though, are sad.”

“What about your shrine?”

“I threw it away.”

“Then I think your obsession with him is over, Helga.”

She thought about that for a moment. “Then why do I still feel heart-broken?”

“Your obsession with him is over but you still love him. I think you have moved past it just being a “kid’s” thing and now you feel actual love for him. I think it is why you are hurting so much.”

Helga half-smiled. “Well, growing up is crap then. I don’t want to feel this way. I don’t know if I can handle this.”

“But Helga, by letting go of the bully persona you have created, Arnold is able to see you for who you really are. I told you this before the Academic Bowl. He has had time to think about what you told him. Maybe his feelings have changed. Or better yet, maybe he realizes his feelings for you. He has always tried to be your friend in spite of you picking on him so much. Did you think of that? He has tried to talk to you much more since school started. Remember how hard he tried to catch you alone? Do you think maybe he wanted to talk about what happened? He stopped that, but he still talks to you a lot more than he ever did, and you were the only one besides Gerald that he told about his parents.”

Helga looked down, her expression warring between hope at what Phoebe had said and uncertainty from her insecurity. “I can’t allow my hopes to get up, Pheebs. I don’t think I can take another FTi thing,” she said in a low voice, looking up at Phoebe. “I feel like I’m on the verge of a mental breakdown,” she added in a joking tone, though it was a real fear of hers.

“Just let him talk to you. See what he does. It is all I can really suggest,” Phoebe said. “And do your best to be nice. Do not let your temper get the better of you. If he does like you, he will let you know in his own way, but if you are mean to him, he won’t say anything thinking you were truthful when you said you hated him. If he does not express anything to you, at least you will know.”

Helga looked down at the pile of t-shirts on the sale table in front of her. She said so quietly Phoebe barely heard her. “What will I do when I know for sure he’ll never return my love?”

* * *

Helga looked for an empty seat not near Arnold when her and Phoebe returned to the gate, but there wasn’t any. The gate was full and she sighed. She picked up her backpack and slumped into the seat, putting it on her lap.

“Didn’t find anything to buy?” Arnold asked, looking up from Helga’s book.

She looked blankly at him for a moment, biting back a retort. Instead, she shook her head. “No, it was more just to have something to do,” she answered quietly.

“Ah. I thought you had other books to read.”

She nodded, looking down at her backpack. “Yeah, but I felt like moving.”

“I can understand that,” he said before turning his attention back to the book she had loaned him.

She sat there still looking down. There was still a half hour until boarding so she dug into her backpack to pull out the book she started on the plane.

“You do read a lot,” Arnold remarked. “No wonder you were so good in the Academic Bowl. What’s that you’re reading now?” Arnold asked, causing her to grind her teeth together in frustration. She was trying to take Phoebe’s advice, but her own self-doubt got in the way.

She calmed her temper and answered evenly, “Sense and Sensibility.”

“Jane Austen, right? I’ve seen the movie. It had…Emma...Emma…”

“Thompson?”

He grinned, “That’s her. And Kate Winslet. I really liked it.”

She looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “Really? It’s a favorite of mine.”

“It was really good,” he agreed. “How’s the book?”

“Better, but I usually prefer most books to the movie anyway.”

“Me too. You get more from books.”

Hearing him agree to something she did feel strongly about made her smile. A genuine smile that made her eyes shine for a brief moment. It was the first time he had seen that in her eyes in a long time, so he smiled back at her, his expression lighting up. Once he smiled, something seemed to flicker in her expression, and he could see the doubt and sadness come back before she looked away, back down at her book. Something told him not to say anything more, so he watched her out of the corner of his eye and remained silent. He did notice, however, for the next half hour of her staring at her book, she never turned the page.

* * *

Their second flight was much the same torture for Helga. Seating arrangements were the same and Phoebe refused to give up her window seat once again. The only good thing about this flight was its’ relatively short length. Instead of reading, Helga had pulled out a pink book and spent the time writing in it with a purple pen. Arnold, sitting across the aisle from her once again, went back and forth between reading this fascinating book she loaned him and watching her. Phoebe noticed this, but kept it to herself.

He couldn’t see what Helga was writing. She had put down her seat tray and was bent over it scribbling away. He smiled as he watched, now that he had figured out the author of the pink book he had. He wondered if she was composing another poem about him. She was fully concentrated on it, though, and he was amused at her expression as she wrote - upper teeth biting on her lower lip and her brow furrowed as her pen scratched furiously over the paper. He thought she looked pretty cute like that and turned his attention back to the book.

When they landed in San Jose, Arnold and Gerald followed Helga and Phoebe off the plane and towards the customs stations. The class passed through the Customs gate quickly and headed down to the baggage claim to collect their luggage. There they were met by a middle aged man holding a sign saying **PS118**. He introduced himself as their bus driver, Manuel.

“I take you to San Lorenzo village,” he said. “I sorry. My English no so good,” he apologized.

Mr. Simmons spoke to the driver in Spanish, who responded happily to their teacher, and the two chatted a little as the class waited for their bags. The bags were collected and lugged out to the somewhat dilapidated bus that waited outside the terminal.

“We are riding in that?” Rhonda asked incredulously.

“Is good bus, señorita,” Manuel assured her as he tossed the bags in the storage compartment. The bus didn’t look clean, nor did it look safe. The kids boarded it, however, laughing and joking with each other. Arnold made sure to slide into the seats in front of the ones Phoebe and Helga chose.

All of the kids, as well as the adults, eagerly stared out the windows as the bus chugged its’ way through the outskirts of San Jose toward the rainforest. The road was good for quite some time - a well paved and smooth two lane road that passed small towns along the way. Further on, the road became a little more run down, the towns looked more depressed, and thick trees and vegetation lined the roads. It was still interesting to look at, however, and Helga stared out the window taking in all the sights. She didn’t notice Arnold in front of her turned enough so he could watch her, but Phoebe noticed. Helga’s expressions of delight at what she saw made him happy. This was his birthplace after all.

After an hour of this, Manuel stopped in a small village at Mr. Simmons’ request to allow everyone to get out. There was a small eating place there, more of a food stall than a restaurant, but everyone was hungry and ate heartily, before getting back on the bus. After ten miles, Manuel turned down a dirt road and the ride became much less smooth. The kids didn’t mind; it was fun to bounce up and down in their seats. The light still shone, though the sun was setting behind them. 

While it was still light, Manuel pulled off to the side of the road. “Waterfall…short walk…” he said, opening the door and climbing out. Mr. Simmons and Mr. Collins looked at each other for a moment, then shrugged. “Come on kids!” Mr. Simmons called. “Let’s stretch our legs. There’s a waterfall near the road.”

Everyone eagerly got off the bus and followed the tiny footpath that Manuel had disappeared down. 

They could hear it before they could see it. The path opened up to a small glade at the foot of a small waterfall. The water cascaded down a series of rocks to land in a large pool at the bottom. Manuel spoke in Spanish to Mr. Simmons, who told the kids that Manuel said we were not far from the San Lorenzo village and that villagers often came here to swim and maybe tomorrow they could come back. That got the kids excited.

* * *

When they finally pulled into the village of San Lorenzo, the sun had just set. The village was not large and their arrival caused a sensation. As the PS 118 class climbed off the bus, younger kids from the village crowded around them, as did the adults. Most of the buildings in the village were brick and very small. A larger building in the center of the village was pointed out to them as containing a small store/post office/town office. 

As tired as he was, Arnold looked around eagerly. This was where he was born. He spent the first year of his life here and his parents fell in love and married here. He thought it quite beautiful and couldn’t wait to see more.

Mr. Simmons told them it had been a long day and it was probably a good idea for them to all go to bed. By now, almost all of the kids were half asleep anyway, so there were no objections. The kids were shown to two separate small buildings that were built of wood with thatched roofs. One for the girls and one for the boys. They all went into their respective huts to put up their luggage and claim their beds. A young woman, who looked to be in her early thirties, was waiting for the girls in the girls’ house. 

“I’m Señorita Valdez,” she said, greeting them in accented English. “Your teacher said there was no chaperone for the girls, so I will stay in here with you during your visit. I’m a teacher at the school,” she told them. “We set up beds here in the common room,” she added, gesturing at the five small cots set up there. “My bedroom is there and the bathroom is over there. You should be quite comfortable and I’m here if you need anything.”

They all greeted her and told her their names, then claimed one of the cots in the room. Helga made sure she was next to Phoebe. All the girls wearily got ready for bed and climbed into their beds and were soon fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't have much to go on in regards to a description of San Lorenzo. I have no idea if Craig meant to have San Lorenzo to be a decent sized city, or a tiny village. I'm going with a remote and tiny village. In "Parent's Day" and "The Journal", Arnold's parents have a small hut and it doesn't look like there is a lot around them, so that's what I'm working off of. I might be totally off base.
> 
> I like exploring Helga's reactions to Arnold showing interest in her. She's spent her whole life pining after him, but relatively safe in the knowledge that he didn't know. Now he does and I picture her not really knowing how to handle it if he likes her back. Plus I've always thought of her as insecure (hence why she hides it in the first place) and unwilling to believe that someone as nice and sweet as Arnold would ever like someone like her


	9. What Did You See?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip to the swimming hole has unexpected consequences. Or rather, Arnold messes up big time.

**Chapter 9 - What Did You See?**

Everyone slept in. There was a scramble with the girls as to who got in the bathroom first and it took a long time for everyone to clean up and get dressed. While the girls were still kids, they were approaching the age where they cared a lot more about looking nice than they had previously. 

They joined the boys, who were already outside by what looked to be a large bonfire at the edge of town. It wasn’t lit, but there were logs to sit on spaced around it. A village woman smilingly handed them plates of eggs, rice and beans, chopped beef, and plantains. “This Gallo Pinto,” she said to the girls. “Is tradition here.”

“Children…children…” Mr. Simmons said, standing up, still holding his plate. “After breakfast we thought we would hike back to the waterfall Manuel showed us yesterday. Señorita Valdez said it’s safe and a popular place for everyone here to go. We thought a little swim and fun was a great way to introduce ourselves to San Lorenzo!”

The kids all agreed. None of them had brought bathing suits, but they all figured they could just go in their t-shirts and shorts.

The delicious breakfast was finished quickly and the entire class, along with Mr. Simmons, Mr. Collins, Jay and Señorita Valdez left the village to walk back down the weed choked road toward the waterfall and swimming hole. 

The waterfall was actually a series of a few small falls, tumbling from the top of a small cliff. Above, it appeared two or three streams fell from the top to another level, then fell to another level and finally combined to fall in one heavy stream at the bottom of the cliff, which is where a large pool had formed. The water was clear and fresh looking and the class did not hesitate to run into the pool and begin splashing around. The adults too, abandoned themselves to the cool water, which felt great after the hot and humid air.

Helga sat on a rock near the edge, moodily watching her classmates. She had taken off her shoes and her feet dangled in the water. She had had too much of people. She hadn’t been alone since she left her house, and Helga was one of those people who needed some alone time every day to keep her thoughts and emotions straight. She looked around, then looked up and decided she would try and sneak up to the higher parts of the waterfall. She was naturally curious, desiring solitude, and wasn’t frightened of anything that might be there. 

Phoebe waded over to her and sat down. “Everything ok Helga?” she asked.

“Mm hmm…” she said. “Pheebs I need a few minutes alone. Can you cover for me? I’m just gonna explore up the falls,” she said, gesturing vaguely up. “If Simmons misses me, tell him I went that way.”

“You should tell him now before you go Helga.”

“Nah, he won’t let me go then,” she reasoned.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

Helga looked at her and shook her head. “I-I just need a few minutes alone, Pheebs. To think. Please understand…”

Phoebe nodded. “Ok. I do understand.”

Helga smiled at her “You’re the best Phoebe,” she said, pulling her feet out and shoving them into her shoes. Phoebe watched her as she made her way closer to the rocks and boulders at the side of the pool. Phoebe was impressed. She was so stealthy that Phoebe knew no one had noticed her disappear. Phoebe herself didn’t even see exactly when Helga slipped around the boulder. Phoebe turned her attention back to the pool and noticed Arnold on the other side, staring intently at where Helga had disappeared. Someone did notice the girl disappear after all.

Phoebe watched as Arnold swam to the side of the pool where Phoebe was and got out. He wasn’t as stealthy as Helga was, but he did disappear himself around the boulder and Phoebe didn’t think anyone but her noticed it. Everyone was having too much fun. Phoebe said softly to herself. “You need to stop running from it Helga,” and then giggled as she swam back into the center of the large swimming hole.

* * *

Arnold had been having fun playing in a water fight with Gerald and Sid when he noticed Helga leave the swimming hole. She wore a wary expression and looked as if she were trying to sneak away. He watched curiously and saw her slip around the boulder at the edge, and, being Arnold, worried about her wandering in the jungle by herself. Besides, Helga went alone and he saw it as a perfect opportunity to talk to her. Without saying anything, he swam over to that side of the pool and got out, wringing his t-shirt and running his hands through his hair to squeeze out excess water. 

On the other side of the boulder, he saw that a tumble of rocks climbed up to the top of the cliff and it only took him a moment to spot Helga, already halfway up. He was impressed at how fearlessly and nimbly she scaled the rocks. _‘Where the heck did she learn to do that?’_ he thought. He couldn’t believe how fast she climbed, barely looking where she was putting her feet and hands. But that was something he had always admired about her, her fearlessness. 

He waited until she disappeared over the edge above before he started climbing up too. It didn’t take him long to reach the top, but he noticed that the shouts and laughter from his class had faded, replaced by the soft roar of the waterfall. He was grateful for that, because he knew he wasn’t very quiet as he climbed, and for some reason he didn’t want her to know he was following her until he could get her someplace she couldn’t escape from. He stopped where the leafy bushes ended at the edge of the pool and peered through the leaves to see what she was doing.

The pool at the top was rather large - a little larger than his room at home - and not very deep. Helga had already taken off her shoes, and was pulling some sort of necklace out from under her t-shirt. She tucked it deep in one of her shoes, which she had put on a boulder, looking around suspiciously as she did so. She then waded out to the middle of the pool. The water came only a few inches above her ankles. At the far edge of the pool, water spilled down toward the next level of the waterfall below, but on the opposite end, a small stream fell from a higher mossy-ridged edge about ten feet above. There was even a small space behind the waterfall, as the edge above extended past the cliff face. Arnold thought it was one of the most beautiful spots he’d ever seen.

At the side he was on, a nine-foot stretch of pebbles and small boulders ringed the edge of the pool. Behind that was the screen of plants that gave him a convenient place to hide as he watched Helga. His inner voice told him interrupting her right now would be a disaster and he felt a twinge of self-consciousness about spying on her, but he couldn’t turn away. 

She stood watching the waterfall for a few minutes, then slowly waded toward it, stretching out both her hands palms up. She stuck her hands under the stream as if to feel the strength of the water. It wasn’t a large stream, but it was a strong flow. She splashed at and played with the water and he thought he could hear her laughing, though it was difficult to tell over the sound of the water.

Then she surprised him, by wading directly into the stream, her hands uplifted above her head. Helga let herself become fully soaked and slowly turned under the water. She turned around again and again, finally just spinning out of control under the water her arms flung out. Arnold watched, fascinated as she did, not really sure what she was doing. She ended up falling back more into the pool with a splash, right onto her butt, and he really did hear her loud laughter as she sat there, tilted back and resting her weight on her hands.

Helga sat in the water for a few minutes, waiting for her dizziness to pass before she stood up again. This time, surprising him even more, she started to dance around the pool, kicking up water and abandoning herself in a way he had never seen her do. She spun around and pirouetted and danced, around the waterfall and through it, laughing and playing in complete surrender. Her dance seemed to have no rhyme or reason, but he did notice how graceful she was in her movements.

She had an engaging laugh that he rarely heard. Arnold wished she was like this more often and he couldn’t help but smile. She kept this Helga hidden - this Helga was someone who loved fun and laughter and dancing. She was apparently someone who could dance to only the music of a waterfall and all he wanted to do was wade out into the pool and dance with her. He went so far as to shift his weight to take that step when he saw her stop, breathless, facing the waterfall once again. He was positioned in a way that he could see her in slight profile, but couldn’t read her expression from the his angle.

Helga stood like that for what seemed like a long time to him, watching the water. Arnold was about to join her, thinking he would make an excuse that he had only just wandered up there himself. He knew that if she knew he had seen her dancing, she would close herself off. Before he could move, he saw her reach up a hand to wipe at her cheek with her palm. He froze, mystified. She did it again to her other cheek, and then again. Then she put her hands over her face and dropped to her knees in the shallow water.

Arnold watched, mouth hanging open, as she sat back on her heels, hunched over herself, her ponytails hanging wet and stringy down her back and her pink bow sagging limply on her head. Her shoulders shook as she cried and he could hear her sobs faintly over the sound of the waterfall. He had no idea what to do. He wanted to go and see if he could comfort her, but the oh-so-wise voice in his head told him if he did he would regret it. He somehow knew Helga had snuck away for this - to be alone and give vent to her emotions with no one around to watch, but her sobs tore at his heart.

Her crying eventually slowed, then stopped. She finally took her hands away from her face, and played them in the water listlessly. She stood, straightening up her spine and seemed to him that she was gathering her strength to herself. Helga went to the waterfall once again and, using her hands, cupped water up to her face to wash it. Then she waded toward the edge of the pool where Arnold stood hidden, and he was afraid she would discover him, but she instead sat on a rock at the edge, not far from where he was, and grabbed her shoes. She pulled the necklace out and set it next to her as she put her shoes back on. She picked up the necklace and looked down at it for a long time and he could hear her voice, but she was talking in too low a tone to make out more than a few words, but he was positive he heard his own name. She put the necklace back on, tucked it out of sight, then sat quietly, her expression settling back into her normal one of disdain and cynicism, but he was no longer fooled by it.

He snuck quietly back away from the pool. He still wanted to join her, but he knew it probably wasn't the best idea. Arnold turned to head back down below when he heard his name called in a friendly tone. Appearing through the trees was Jay, the Travel Frontiers reporter.

“Ah, good! I found you!” he said, coming closer to Arnold, whose heart felt like it stopped. “You haven’t seen Helga have you? I told Mr. Simmons I’d look for the both of you.”

Arnold involuntarily glanced toward the pool and Jay pushed through the bushes. “Oh! Helga! There you are!” Jay said startling the girl, whose head whipped around. “Mr. Simmons sent me to look for you two. Time to head back to the village!”

Her eyes were narrowed and her expression angry at being interrupted, but when Jay said ‘you two’, her eyes widened. She looked past Jay and saw Arnold behind him wearing a look of chagrin. 

Jay continued. “Señorita Valdez said they were going to treat us to a welcome dinner tonight.” He turned, beckoning to her, “Come on…”

Helga slowly got up, her face white and her lips pressed together. She pushed through the bushes at the side of the pool and brushed past Arnold to follow Jay. Jay took a much easier path down the cliff, one that took longer than the more direct route Helga (and then Arnold) had climbed. Arnold followed her meekly.

They were halfway down when she hissed over her shoulder, “How long were you up there?”

“Um, I-I had just gotten there ahead of Mr. Jay?” He was horrible at lying and ending the statement with a questioning lift of his voice did not help matters. 

She turned her head enough to glare at him, “What did you see?”

“N-n-nothing Helga,” he said desperately.

He felt so guilty and his face reflected it. He saw her face flush bright red and she turned forward again, her body posture stiff and unyielding as she followed the unsuspecting Jay. His heart sank. He had been able, the past few days, to get her to talk to him and open up a little and he hoped to do more of that. He believed he had blown it.

When they rejoined the group at the bottom of the waterfall, Helga’s arms were crossed in front of her and she looked angry as she stalked away from Arnold to be by Phoebe. Arnold’s face still reflected his guilt. Rhonda, of course, noticed this. “Nadine, check them out. Something is going on. They left the pool together and they come back together, and look how upset they both look.”

“What do you think it is Rhonda?” Nadine asked.

“Maybe they snuck off to kiss or something and got caught.”

“Rhonda! Do you think so?”

“That would explain why Arnold looks guilty and Helga looks mad.”

Nadine giggled. “True! Aw, that would be so cute though!”

Rhonda nodded. “Oh yeah, it would be. But still, I'm going to keep my eye on them, and I have a few questions for Phoebe…”


	10. Welcome Home Arnold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things remain tense between Helga and Arnold, and the kids are entertained by a village story teller.

**Chapter 10 - Welcome Home Arnold**

The girls returned to their hut, bathed in the tub, and changed their clothes. Their wet things hung on a rope that Señorita Valdez strung across the room. Rhonda came out of the bathroom, fresh and pink and clean, brushing her hair. She glanced over at Helga, who had cleaned up and changed earlier and was sitting on her bed talking in a low voice to Phoebe. “Helga, where did you and Arnold disappear to this afternoon?” Her voice was mocking and she grinned knowingly at the blond girl.

Helga looked up at Rhonda, her eyes narrowed and scowled at her. She was telling Phoebe about what happened at the pool. Nadine and Sheena pricked up their ears and watched curiously. “Nowhere, Princess,” Helga said harshly. “I went exploring. I don’t know what that Football Head was up to.”

“You disappeared together, Helga,” Rhonda said, tossing her hair. “And Mr. Jay had to go find you both. And you returned together. You both looked really upset when you came back.”

They were interrupted by Señorita Valdez stepping out of her room. “If all of you are ready,” Señorita Valdez said pleasantly. “We have dinner waiting for you.”

The other girls, who were hungry, followed the San Lorenzo teacher from their house. Helga hung back with Phoebe, her expression angry. “Calm down Helga, it’s ok,” the shorter girl said to her friend soothingly. 

“What if he saw me, Phoebe? What if he heard me? I’ll die of embarrassment,” Helga grated out.

“It is highly unlikely you will die and I do not believe that Arnold would ever tell anyone even if he saw or heard anything,” Phoebe reasoned.

“Was Rhonda right? Did he disappear when I did?”

Phoebe considered for a moment, and decided to be truthful. “Yes, Helga. He went right after you did. He saw you leave and followed you.”

Helga put her hands over her face and moaned.

Phoebe, however, tugged at her arm. “Helga! Think about it though. He followed you. That is a good thing!”

“He must think I’m crazy,” she moaned. 

“I do not think he would ever think that of you.”

* * *

The boys were already at the village square with Mr. Simmons, Mr. Collins, and Jay. A few tables had been set up for their dinner. It was starting to get dark, so torches were placed all over the square to give enough light to see. Village children ran around the small fountain in the center. The girls took seats at the tables and were served hot dishes of rice and chicken and unidentifiable vegetables, cooked to a mushy consistency. They all ate hungrily and Mr. Simmons informed them that after dinner, they were going to be treated to a bonfire and stories.

Helga did not enjoy her meal, in spite of how delicious it was. She was still irritated with Rhonda, who had chosen to sit next to her. Arnold and Gerald sat directly across from her and Phoebe. Phoebe seemed pleased at the arrangement, and chatted across the table with Gerald. Helga, however, couldn’t control her burning cheeks. She was mortified at the thought that Arnold had seen her crying and possibly heard her talking to her locket, and angry that he had been spying on her in the first place. She kept her attention on her food, fully aware that Arnold was eating his meal across the table with his eyes on her the entire time_. ‘Probably laughing inside at me…the crazy girl…I can’t imagine what he thinks…’_ she thought. She wanted to scream and throw her food at him then reach over and strangle Rhonda, but she controlled herself. 

Arnold still felt incredibly guilty for spying on her. It was completely out of character for him to do something like that and he knew he should apologize to her, but he was glad that he had been able to see her like she was up at the waterfall. The abandoned way she danced and even the heartbreaking crying. He felt like he saw the real Helga - the one she had only shown him a few times. Arnold was also fascinated with watching her reaction to him and everything he said and did on this trip. Like right now, he could tell she was bothered by him sitting across from her: the play of emotions across her features, her reddened cheeks, and the tension of her whole body as she tried to eat. Grandpa had been right about being aggressive. It was working. It amused him that he could affect a girl this much and she looked quite adorable.

Helga finally raised her eyes to meet his, just as he shoved a forkful of rice into his mouth. He raised his eyebrows at her as he swallowed. “Good, isn’t it?” he said, trying to ignore the angry look in her eyes. Her eyes were so expressive and such a deep blue with her anger.

She just stared at him, her expression hard.

He smiled at her in such an engaging way that she felt a smile tug at her lips, until she remembered the pool, so she scowled and dropped her gaze back to her dinner. 

“You’re sure staring at Helga a lot, Arnold,” Rhonda said suddenly.

She looked up quickly at Rhonda, then at Arnold, whose cheeks looked as if they had reddened, though it was hard to tell in the faint light. However, Arnold merely looked at Rhonda and shrugged with his half smile, before once again looking at Helga and calmly returning to eating. Rhonda just gaped at him while Helga looked back down at her plate and picked at the food for the rest of the meal, her appetite now completely gone.

* * *

The bonfire was roared at the edge of the village, past where the buildings ended. There were logs placed around the bonfire for everyone to sit and Helga followed Phoebe to an empty log. She wasn’t surprised when Arnold sat next to her and Gerald sat on the other side of Phoebe. She expected he would. The blazing fire in front of them warmed her face enough that she convinced herself that the burning of her cheeks was from it instead of the blush she knew was really there. He didn’t even say anything to her. He just sat down as if she wouldn’t care. She felt like punching him.

When Harold went to join them on the same log, on the other side of Arnold, they all had to scrunch in closer together. Arnold looked at her as he wriggled closer to her, pressing her between himself and Phoebe, who got squeezed against Gerald. “Sorry,” he said with a grin.

“Criminy Harold!” Helga yelled at Harold around Arnold. 

“I just want a little room!” he whined, forcing Arnold even closer to Helga.

“Why don’t you just sit on Arnold’s lap, Helga?” Rhonda teased from the log next to theirs making Helga freeze.

Everyone laughed. “Yeah Arnold! Pull Helga onto your lap!” Sid shouted.

“Put your arms around her!” Stinky added with a laugh.

“Then you can kiss her!” Harold yelled, “Like she kissed you in that play!” That got more laughs.

Helga was mortified once again and closed in on herself, looking down at her knees, her cheeks burned so hotly that she knew she couldn’t blame it on the fire. She knew she should have lashed out at them, but she couldn’t. She felt Arnold laughing though, and heard him respond. “Only if she wants me to…”

Their friends laughed harder and Helga felt her fists clench in her lap. She couldn’t quite believe she had heard Arnold correctly, but before she could figure anything out, Mr. Simmons had stood up to quiet them down. “Class! We have a special presentation for you tonight. I know we’re all tired from our journey but I think you will really enjoy this! This is Señor Mendes,” he said, introducing one of the villagers. “He’s here to tell us a story about one of the legends of the area.”

An older man stepped into the light from the bonfire. He looked the part of an ancient storyteller, down to his stooped back and wrinkly face. His English, however accented, was perfect and he raised his hands dramatically. The kids went silent as they leaned forward to hear his story.

“This is a recent legend,” he began. His voice was rich and powerful, in spite of the small body it came from. “Most stories you hear are about times long past and about peoples who don’t exist anymore. But I thought I would begin with a recent legend of a newborn God that we’ve come across from our most mysterious neighbors…the Green Eyes…”

Helga felt Arnold tense up at her side, and she glanced at him, her own cheeks still on fire from the teasing and what he had said. His expression turned pensive and eager and he didn’t return her glance. She turned her attention back to Señor Mendes as he continued, relieved that she didn’t catch Arnold’s eye.

“Gods aren’t born every day but in the past decade, we’ve seen evidence in the Green Eye temples that they believe in a new God and this is his story…

“Little is known about the Green Eyes. Though there are distant relatives of them in this village, the Green Eyes are shy of contact with people outside of their society. They are shy and elusive and rarely make contact with outsiders, but there are a few temples that appear to be abandoned, until you notice a new carving or new idol placed in them. So we know the Green Eyes exist and are still very much alive, and this legend has come to us from them…

“Just over ten years ago, the Green Eyes put their trust into a strange pair of fair skinned people who had ventured into their territory. The pair – a man and a woman – were different from anyone the Green Eyes had ever seen. Their skin was white and their clothing was strange. The man had fair, blond hair and the woman had light brown hair, which was a great difference from all they had known - their own brown skin and dark brown and black hair.”

Helga glanced at Arnold again. His face was troubled. She had seen a picture of his parents and knew the people Señor Mendes described sounded like them.

The villager continued. “The pair learned about a stolen relic of the Green Eyes, and to thank the Green Eyes for saving their lives, they stole the relic back and returned it to the temple. This led the Green Eyes to trust the pair. The trust deepened when members of the Green Eye tribe started becoming sick and the woman worked her magic in order to save the lives of the Green Eye people.”

Helga was wrapped up in the story, having already heard the gist of it from Arnold, but hearing it told like this was thrilling. The storyteller had a compelling way of talking. She forgot her embarrassment and was so caught up in the story that she didn’t even realize Arnold had grabbed her hand and gripped it tightly, out of sight between them.

“She gave them a magic potion she had made - she left it in one of their temples - and the Green Eyes were cured.“

He paused in his story telling, looking around at the group of children, at their rapt faces waiting for him to go on.

“Months later, the mountain…” he said, gesturing vaguely toward the darkness, where the kids assumed the mountain stood “…grew angry and voiced its’ fury! It erupted in smoke and fire!” he shouted, startling the kids, some into nervous laughter. “The Green Eyes were frightened that they had angered their Gods. They didn’t know why the Gods were angry and they didn’t know what to do. There was nowhere they could go. A river of fire was coming toward their village to devour their homes and their temples. As they fled, they spotted their white-skinned friends traveling through the jungle themselves. They saw right away that the woman was in labor and her fair-skinned mate, along with a man that looked like them, were carrying the woman somewhere to give birth…

“The Green Eyes hurried ahead of them to their most sacred temple on a hill, away from the river of fire, and prepared a bed for the woman to give birth on. Then they drew back into the trees to await them. Something told them this couple would save them once again…

“The three made it to the temple and were surprised to see the bed laid out for them, but there was no time to question anything. The woman’s cries increased as the time to deliver her baby came near. The two men helped her to the bed and lay her down, encouraging her and helping her as much as they could. The volcano erupted noisily in the distance and the lava flowed toward the temple. The Green Eyes waited patiently, watching and trusting…

“Eventually the baby came, and with it came silence. The volcano stopped!” he said that last sentence loudly, causing the class to gasp. Then he spoke normally. “The moment the baby was born, nature was silenced. It was a miracle. And into the silence came the first cry of the newborn and the Green Eyes rejoiced among themselves. They had just witnessed the birth of their new God!”

The storyteller ended his tale abruptly and the silence around the bonfire was absolute. All the kids stared at him, except for Helga, who turned her head to stare at Arnold. She could tell, in spite of the flickering color of the bonfire on his face, that he had gone pale, and his mouth had dropped open. Both Phoebe and Gerald also stared around her at him. 

“You’re a God, Football Head?” she asked in a low voice.

He looked at her blankly and didn’t respond.

“Oh, what a wonderful story,” Mr. Simmons finally said, and some of the kids cheered - everyone except for the four friends sitting together on the log who had heard the same story quite differently before. 

“Not a story. There is some truth to it,” said one of the villagers.

“There is?” asked Mr. Collins.

“Oh, yes. Just over ten years ago there really was a volcanic eruption. It threatened this area as well. We were able to evacuate, but we were unsure of the Green Eyes. They are a mysterious people and we have little contact with them. Some, but not much. We were more worried, however, of getting our people out,” the man explained.

A woman spoke up. “What is strange though, about the story, is that the volcano DID stop erupting abruptly. It was very unusual.”

“It did?” asked Jay, taking notes in his notebook for his article.

“Mmm hmm,” added Señorita Valdez. “Usually an eruption can go on for quite some time after it begins. Then there are aftershocks and so on. With this eruption it was almost like a switch turned it off. Yes, there had been lava flows that damaged quite a bit of the jungle growth, but as far as we can tell, no Temples of the Green Eyes were damaged.”

“So it could have been considered a miracle?” asked Jay.

“On the surface, at least for them, it does look like that. I do know the couple did leave the village earlier in the day to head to the hospital in one of the larger towns. She was pregnant but she went into labor earlier than expected. Not dangerously early, but they tried to get her to a hospital. They didn’t make it. She did give birth in the temple.”

“She did,” a new voice sounded, from a man who stepped into the light of the bonfire. He was a man who looked to be in his early forties, and spoke in accented English. “And the world was silenced as her baby was born. I was there.”

“Eduardo,” said Señorita Valdez. 

Helga heard Arnold gasp when he heard the name and he involuntarily squeezed her hand, which made her notice he was holding it. She was shocked and didn’t know what to do in the brief moment before Eduardo spoke again.

“I saw the birth of the Green Eyes God, and have heard the legends - that one day he would return. And he has.”

Everyone looked around at each other, but Arnold, Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald sat holding their breath. Arnold’s hand clung desperately to Helga’s. She didn’t know what to do or why he was gripping her hand so tightly. Her anger and humiliation disappeared as her heart went out to him. She stared at Arnold as she heard Eduardo say. “Welcome home, Arnold.”


	11. Can You Stay?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold gets more of the story.

**Chapter 11 - Can You Stay?**

It took some time for Mr. Simmons, Mr. Collins, and Señorita Valdez to calm down not only the class, but the villagers as well. Arnold sat in stunned silence, staring at Eduardo. Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald were just as silent. Everyone else yelled and shouted questions, the villagers spoke in rapid Spanish. 

Señorita Valdez finally shouted something in Spanish that even made Mr. Simmons wince. The villagers reluctantly quieted and moved away from the bonfire, heading back to their own homes. “I’m taking the girls back to their house,” Señorita Valdez told Mr. Simmons. “I suggest you take the boys. It’s been a long day for them.”

Mr. Simmons nodded. “Come on kids. Everyone let’s go. Let’s get some sleep. I know this is exciting, but I think we should leave Arnold alone to talk to Señor Eduardo. Come on.” It took a lot, but he eventually got the rest of the class to their feet. Helga shifted to stand, but Arnold squeezed her hand. “Can you stay?” he asked in a small and frightened voice.

She met his eyes, which were opened wide and full of fear. “Of course,” she immediately answered.

“Phoebe and Gerald too,” he decided. “I know you probably told Phoebe about this and Gerald already knows.”

Helga turned her head to look at their friends on her other side. “Stay,” she said in a quiet voice to Phoebe and Gerald, who hadn’t moved. They both nodded. The four of them then stared up at Eduardo, who returned their stares with a grave look. 

Mr. Simmons returned, as did Señorita Valdez. “I think you have some explaining to do, Eduardo,” she said, her tone angry.

“I’m sorry to be dramatic,” Eduardo said. “Come, let’s go to my house. We can talk a little more privately.” He turned and began to walk toward the buildings of the village.

Mr. Simmons gestured to the four waiting on the log and they got up. Helga relaxed the hand Arnold held, but he didn’t let go. She tried not to read too much into his holding her hand so tightly. She knew he was shocked by what he heard and she was the closest person sitting near him, so it made sense that he clung to her. He would have grabbed the hand of anyone sitting near him. She tried not to think of how nice and warm his hand felt. He looked lost as they followed Gerald and Phoebe and Mr. Simmons, who was trailing after Eduardo and Señorita Valdez. Gerald had taken Phoebe’s hand, and Mr. Collins and Jay also tagged along.

They all squeezed into Eduardo’s small brick home. Arnold finally let go of Helga’s hand as he sat at the table in Eduardo’s large room. There were only four chairs, and Arnold looked at Helga, then at the chair next to him, then back at her, so she sat down. Mr. Simmons and Eduardo sat in the two chairs opposite them and the rest of the group stood around.

“I’m sorry about that Arnold,” Eduardo began, looking at the young boy. Then he smiled. “I haven’t seen you since you were, I think, almost two years old and it was a great surprise to me to see you here. When I heard a class from Hillwood was coming here, I put off a journey I hoped to make in order to see if you would indeed be coming. You look so much like your mother.”

“Do these Green Eyes really think I’m a God?” Arnold asked.

“They do. I can show you the idols they’ve made. They look like you as a baby.”

“I-I just can’t believe this.”

Eduardo spread his hands. “Your parents meant a lot to the Green Eyes. Miles and Stella did so much for them. They see you as another gift from your parents.”

“I don’t even know what to think about that,” Arnold added, trying to laugh, but failing.

“Well,” Eduardo said. “It’s not like you have to go to them and rule them or anything. They just worship you.”

Everyone looked at Arnold, who paled.

Mr. Simmons spoke up, surprising Arnold with his question. “So, Señor Eduardo, Arnold’s parents, weren’t they last seen here?”

Arnold glanced at Mr. Simmons, wondering how his teacher knew.

Eduardo nodded. “Miles and Stella were here and they did cure the Green Eyes of their sleeping sickness once again. It took much longer than we anticipated, however. More than a year to make everyone healthy. Then we learned more relics had been stolen from a raided temple of the Green Eyes. That angered both of your parents, Arnold,” he said, looking at Arnold again. “One of the relics was a particularly important amulet considered to be one of their most sacred items. Your parents promised to get it back for the Green Eyes. There was evidence it was stolen by a man named La Sombra. It was he who had stolen the first relic your parents recovered.

“Your parents had faced him before and knew he was dangerous, but they felt they needed to go and at least try. That’s the last time I saw them.”

“I need to look for them,” Arnold said, his face set in a determined expression.

Eduardo glanced around at the group before returning his glance at Arnold. “Arnold…I’ve been searching for them for many years,” he said as gently as he could. “Your father was my best friend.”

“There’s got to be something I can do. I can’t give up before I even try!”

Eduardo sat looking at him silently. Then he spread his hands. “I honestly don’t know where else to turn, Arnold,” he admitted. “I’ve tried. Believe me, I’ve tried. I’ve questioned everyone I could, I’ve looked everywhere I could think of. This jungle is huge and dense and mysterious, and it doesn’t give up its’ secrets.”

Arnold looked down at the table, then was surprised when Helga spoke up in an angry tone. “Well, what about these Green Eyes? Do they know anything?” she demanded.

Eduardo looked at her, surprised at the intense look he got from the girl; her hard and flashing blue eyes and scowling unibrow. “We don’t know. It’s difficult to make contact with the Green Eyes. They are afraid of outsiders and are good at avoiding them.”

“But you do know them, right? How would you know their legends if you didn’t know them?” she asked.

“We do have some contact with them. I do speak their dialect. But it’s usually only on their terms we get to see them.”

“Well, they have to know the jungle, at least better than anyone else here?”

“I would think so, señorita,” he answered slowly. 

“Then we have to find them and get them to help!”

“Señorita, I already said, they are nearly impossible to find unless they want to be found. We don’t even know exactly where they live. We have always had contact away from their home.”

“He has a map,” she said, pointing at Arnold. “It might point us to where the Green Eyes are.”

“Helga,” Señorita Valdez said gently, “Even if we find their home, they will probably still avoid us. That’s what Eduardo is saying. They don’t want to be found.”

“Well, I don’t care what they want!” she said loudly, slamming her palm against the table, startling everyone there. “Arnoldo here,” she growled, jerking her thumb toward him, “is their God, isn’t he? If he commands them, they’ll have to obey! He’s come all this way, he has to try!”

Arnold stared at her and the adults in the room looked at each other. “That might work,” Eduardo said slowly. “If we can find them.”

“The map is a start!” she insisted. 

Señorita Valdez spoke up. “It will be too dangerous. We can’t allow Arnold to wander around the jungle looking for the Green Eyes,” the woman said. “He is just a young boy.”

Helga scoffed, getting to her feet and planting her fists on her hips. “That’s what you know, sister,” she sneered angrily. “It wouldn’t be the first dangerous thing Arnold has done and he’s probably smarter than all of you put together. He won’t be alone. He has the help of the other three biggest brains in his class,” she added, pointing at herself and Gerald and Phoebe.

Gerald and Phoebe nodded and Gerald said, “We’ll help you all we can, brother.”

“Yes we will Arnold!” Phoebe piped up.

“And I’ll help as well, Arnold,” Mr. Simmons said softly, smiling at him.

“Count me in,” added Mr. Collins, surprising Arnold, his friends, and their teacher. They were even more surprised when Jay echoed his boss.

Helga crossed her arms in front of her chest and stood scowling at Eduardo. “The whole class loves Arnold and I’m sure they’ll help too,” and Phoebe and Gerald voiced their agreement.

“Helga…everyone…I can’t let you risk yourselves just to help me,” Arnold protested.

She looked down at him, her eyes burning. “Oh, be quiet, Football Head. You’re getting our help whether you like it or not!”

He stared at her for a moment, before breaking out into a big smile. He jumped up and hugged her tightly, laughing. Her arms were still crossed and she looked surprised and remained stiff in his hug. “Whatever you say, Helga,” he whispered.

* * *

Phoebe and Helga quietly walked to the girls’ hut, followed by Arnold and Gerald, who said goodnight to them as they went into the boys’ hut. Helga hoped the other girls had gone to sleep already. She didn’t want to face questions, especially after what happened at the waterfall and the teasing she had gone through earlier. She thought about the day and about how confused her emotions were. She couldn’t believe all of this had happened in only two days. She was tired and knew if she had to face questions, she might say something she would regret. She tried not to analyze everything Arnold had said and done to her since they left Hillwood.

Her hopes were dashed as they opened the door and noticed a light burning over near Rhonda’s bed. Rhonda, Nadine, and Sheena were on Rhonda’s cot, waiting for Phoebe and Helga’s return. Rhonda didn’t even give them a chance to get in the door before she jumped on her feet.

“What was all that about?!” she cried.

Helga stared at the dark haired girl as she slammed the door shut. She was angry at Rhonda already, for the things she said at dinner and at the bonfire, so she remained silent. Phoebe answered instead.

“It appears this tribe really does think that Arnold is their God,” she said.

“That is insane!” Rhonda exclaimed.

“So Arnold was born here? I don’t understand,” Sheena said.

Phoebe looked at Helga, who had silently crossed the room to sit on a chair near own bed. So she continued. “Yes, Arnold’s parents lived here for quite some time. They worked down here and even got married here. This is where he was born.”

“But I remember Arnold playing in the park. We were very little,” Rhonda objected.

“They moved back to Hillwood when he was a baby,” Phoebe explained. “His parents left again to help these Green Eye people. That is when they disappeared.”

Rhonda looked around at them, noting Helga’s scowl as the blond girl stared at the floor. “Well,” she said, tossing her hair and putting her hands on her hips. “At least this answers the question of who wrote the essay.”

“What do you mean Rhonda?” Nadine asked.

“Well it’s obvious. Arnold did. He wanted to come back to where his parents lived, where he was born.”

“I am pretty sure Arnold did not write it, Rhonda,” Phoebe said.

“How can you say that Phoebe? It had to have been him.”

“It does make sense, Phoebe” Sheena agreed.

“Yes, but I am still positive he did not write it,” she insisted, ignoring the sharp look that Helga darted at her.

Rhonda waved away Phoebe’s statement. “I’m sorry Phoebe, but I can’t believe it was anyone but him. I just can’t figure out why he’d want to come here.”

To everyone’s surprise, Helga spoke up. “First of all, you’re wrong. Arnold didn’t write the essay. I know because I accidentally found out who it was,” she held up her hand to stop Rhonda. “And don’t ask, I’m not going to tell. The author wanted to be anonymous and I’m not going to expose them. Second, Arnold wants to find his parents. They’re missing and he thinks they’re still alive. He wants to look for them. And I think we should help him,” she finished in a very tired voice.

The other four girls stared at her, unsure of what to say, until Phoebe spoke up. “Yes, Helga and I already told Arnold we’d help him.”

Helga added. “He needs our help. All of our help,” she said, indicating herself and the other girls. “He’s our friend. He’s been our friend for years.”

“Of course we’ll help him Helga. You don’t have to ask,” said Nadine, and she was echoed by Sheena and Rhonda.

Helga didn’t respond, but Phoebe said a quiet “Thank you”. The other three girls were already ready and dressed for bed, so Phoebe and Helga tiredly got ready themselves by changing into their pajamas and brushing their teeth in the bathroom. They were standing at the sink together and Phoebe looked at Helga in the mirror. “I am very impressed Helga,” she said softly.

Helga stared back into the mirror into Phoebe’s eyes. “Why?”

“The way you stood up for Arnold.”

She huffed. “It’s no big deal Phoebe.”

“I’m sure it is to Arnold.”

Helga looked at Phoebe’s reflection for a long moment before turning away. “I will never be a big deal to Arnold,” she muttered and stalked out of the bathroom, followed by Phoebe, who shook her head sadly.

The other girls were in their own beds. Rhonda waited for everyone to climb into their cots so she could turn the light off. Señorita Valdez still had not returned. Before Helga could even pull back the mosquito netting for her cot, however, she heard Rhonda ask, “So what’s going on with you and Arnold, Helga?”

She froze, her hand on the netting. “What are you talking about, Princess?” she asked in a low tone.

“You both sure have been buddy buddy on this trip.”

She ground her teeth together, but managed to answer evenly, staring at her own hand on the netting. “He happened to sit next to me on the plane, Rhonda. I had no control over that.”

“Ha ha. You sat together everywhere yesterday and today, even when the seats weren’t assigned,” Rhonda said smugly. “You disappeared for over an hour together at the waterfall. And he’s been staring at you all day. Don’t think I didn’t see how you blushed when Harold suggested he kiss you and Arnold said only if you wanted to. You didn’t get mad, just embarrassed.”

Helga spun around, her temper flaring up. “There’s absolutely NOTHING going on with Arnold and me!” she grated through her clenched teeth. Rhonda flinched, though she was on the other side of the room. Helga’s anger was that palpable, and while her and Rhonda had never actually fought, Rhonda didn’t want there to be a first time. The other girls silently stared at Helga. Phoebe watched her best friend anxiously, ready to step in and soothe her.

Rhonda just nervously tossed her head. “If you say so, Helga,” she said in a tone that clearly indicated she wasn’t buying it. Helga just growled and turned again toward her bed and crawled into it, burying herself under the covers, facing the wall. After a few minutes, the light shut off and the girls fell asleep one by one. Helga, of course, was the last to fall asleep.

* * *

At the same time, Arnold and Gerald entered the boys hut to find all the boys in the same position as the girls - all waiting up for them to come back. 

“What is going on Arnold?” Sid asked, full of concern.

“Yeah Arnold, you’re a God?” said Stinky.

Arnold sighed, sitting tiredly on his cot. “No, Stinky. I’m not a God, but these people, these Green Eyes, do think that.”

“But Arnold, I had no idea you were born here,” said Eugene, looking at the other boys, who all nodded. “Why didn’t you say anything about it during the last few months?”

Arnold shrugged, looking at Gerald. “I don’t know, Eugene. I didn’t feel like mentioning it.”

Gerald added. “Arnold’s parents were last seen here. He’s hoping to look for them.”

“Gosh Arnold, I didn’t know that,” said Stinky.

“I don’t talk about them a lot, Stinky,” Arnold said.

They were quiet for a few minutes. 

“So you wrote the essay, Arnold?” Sid asked.

Arnold looked at him, confused. “What? No. No I didn’t.”

“Well, that’s a strange coincidence,” said Eugene, “That someone else won a trip exactly where you needed to go.”

“None of you wrote it?” asked Arnold.

The boys all looked at each other, but none of them said anything. He couldn’t tell if their silence meant one of them wrote it or not. “It’s ok,” Arnold said in a tired voice. “Maybe I’ll find out some day. I hope whoever it is knows how grateful I am.”

They were quiet for a few minutes, until Gerald finally spoke, “We should get some sleep, it’s been a long day.”

They got ready for bed, got into their cots, and turned off the lights. Harold’s snores soon filled the room, and Arnold heard the rest of his friends’ breathing slow as they fell asleep. He lay on his back, hands behind his head, staring up at the mosquito netting around him.

It had been an eventful two days, and Helga dominated his thoughts because he didn’t really want to think about anything involving his parents and his God-like status yet. He wasn’t ready to think about that. 

He hoped he hadn’t blown things by what he did at the waterfall. Arnold really did want to get her to open up to him and talk to him more. Talking to her was always interesting. She was unpredictable, sure, but she was incredibly smart and when she let herself, she was hilariously funny. He wished that side of her came out more. He had told Lila once he really liked Helga when she was like that, and he did. He couldn’t understand why she always hid that part of herself. Plus, he wanted to know why she was so sad.

He also thought about her reactions to him. She seemed keyed up and nervous the entire trip. She sometimes looked irritated, but did allow him to see that pretty smile a few times, yet she seemed upset when he responded with his own. Half the time she looked like she was scared when he talked to her. He just couldn’t figure her out. Why would she be afraid of him?

Her actions in the pool at the waterfall puzzled him too. Seeing her abandon herself like that was refreshing, to say the least. It proved to him the Helga he knew was there really was there, but he was concerned about her crying. He didn’t ever remember seeing her cry and the way she let herself go at the pool was heartbreaking to him.

His cheeks tinged a bit as he thought about getting teased at the bonfire. He had no idea what made him respond the way he did, but when his friends shouted out that she should be on his lap and he should try to kiss her, the image came into his head - Helga on his lap, laughing in that abandoned way she had been laughing at the waterfall, smiling down into his eyes as he reached up to kiss her. He really liked the picture and he wanted to kiss her, wanted her to smile at him like that, wanted to stare into her pretty blue eyes. He liked what happened at FTI, once he was able to reflect on it and process what happened. Why was he thinking these things? 

Helga didn’t get angry, though, at the teasing. Arnold expected her to but she only looked embarrassed. Did she want to kiss him again as well? Like she did on the roof of FTi? Yet being near him seemed to be the last thing she wanted. He again thought he really blew things by getting caught spying on her at the pool. He figured she would hate him for it.

He reminded himself, though, she stood by him and stood up for him this evening. He was surprised to find himself clutching her hand after the story was done, but he felt comforted by it, and was pleased when she didn’t let go of his hand and didn’t hesitate to stay with him. Her hand felt perfect in his. Her anger when facing down Eduardo thrilled him. Helga was fascinating when in a temper. Unless, he thought with a grin, it was directed at him.

He thought again he had missed her chaotic personality since last year. He wished he could just ask her - why she avoided him, why did she say she loved him then taken it back, why she was sad, and why did she seem scared of him. Somehow he knew if he asked her any of those questions, she would close off again and he would lose any progress he had made with her on this trip.

_‘I’ll apologize to her tomorrow,’_ he thought_. ‘Hopefully she’ll accept my apology and we can move on from there.’_ That decided, he felt much better about the whole thing. 

He sighed, then chuckled softly to himself as he turned over to curl into his normal sleeping position. “I will never understand girls.”


	12. I Saw You Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helga and Arnold talk. Phoebe and Arnold talk.

**Chapter 12 - I Saw You Dancing**

Arnold skipped breakfast with everyone in the morning to instead go with Mr. Simmons and Eduardo to sit with Senorita Valdez in her classroom to go over the maps and make plans for the following day. Senorita Valdez promised to get water bottles for them as well as food to eat during the trek and Eduardo took charge of getting the other supplies they would need together. Once everything was worked out, Arnold was free to rejoin his classmates, who he knew planned on playing soccer with the village kids.

Arnold showed up before the game started and looked around at everyone vaguely. He noticed Helga wasn’t there, which he thought was strange because he knew how much she loved to play sports. She must have been more upset about the waterfall thing than he realized.

He made an excuse to Gerald - a weak one about checking something in their cabin - and set off to search the village for the girl, ignoring Harold’s teasing comments about actually going to look for his girlfriend and the laughs Harold got for it. He wandered around, irritated with the stares and whispers from the older villagers when they saw him. He was still not prepared to cope with the whole ‘being a God’ thing.

He found Helga seated on the edge of the fountain in the square, half-turned so she could splash her hand in the water. Arnold watched her for a minute before taking a deep breath so he could approach her. He called her name softly, wincing inside at how she flinched when she heard him, her head whipping around. 

“Can I join you?” he asked.

She turned fully and stared for a moment, then shrugged as she looked away. He took that as a yes and sat down next to her. They were silent for a while. 

“Helga,” he finally said. “I-I really want to apologize for yesterday.”

She refused to look at him and instead stared away toward one of the houses on the square. He sighed inwardly, though he knew apologizing to her wouldn’t be easy. 

“I know I shouldn’t have followed you.”

“You don’t have to apologize,” she said, surprising him.

“But I do. It was pretty rotten of me to not let you know I was there.”

They fell into silence again and she kept her gaze away from him.

“What did you see?” she suddenly asked in a small voice with no trace of anger in her tone, just fear.

He wanted to be honest with her, no matter what. “I saw you dancing,” he answered. “And crying.”

Helga looked down at the ground, her head turned away and her shoulders sagging in dejection. He couldn’t see her expression.

“Anything else?”

Arnold looked at her curiously. “Just you sitting on the edge of the pool. I think you were talking to yourself but I couldn’t hear what you said. I could just hear your voice.”

She sighed. “Ok, good,” she said in a tone that sounded relieved to him. Then, as an afterthought, she said quietly, “Thank you for apologizing.”

To him it sounded like she was more concerned with what he heard than what he saw. Arnold really wished now he had heard what she said. He swore he had heard his name. “You’re welcome.”

“You must think I’m crazy.”

He smiled, though Helga didn’t see it. “No, I don’t think that,” he said. “I just think…I don’t know…you keep what you feel too much to yourself. It looked like you were letting it out.”

She thought that over for minute and nodded.

He continued. “I actually think it was nice. I liked watching you dance anyway, and I wish there was something I could do so you wouldn’t be so sad.”

She finally looked at him with the surprised expression that he liked. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but decided against it and looked away again.

They fell quiet again for a while and he wondered what she was about to say.

“Also,” he broke the silence. “I wanted to thank you for last night.”

“For what?” she asked.

“For being there for me and standing up for me, especially after what I did.”

“It was nothing.”

“No!” he almost cried out. “It was everything! “

Helga didn’t respond to him and was still looking away; he couldn’t read what she was thinking. She stood up, still not looking at him, and said, “You don’t have to thank me, Arnold.”

“Yes I do! You don’t know how much it meant to me that you were there for me!”

She thought for a moment and said over her shoulder. “I’ve always been there for you, Arnold.” Then without another word, she walked off across the square and disappeared between two of the buildings, leaving him on the fountain edge too confused to chase after her. 

* * *

Arnold was still there when Phoebe came by and spotted him. He looked upset, so Phoebe came over to him. “Arnold, are you alright?”

He looked at her and nodded slowly.

“Have you seen Helga?”

“Yeah, I was just talking to her.”

“Oh?”

“She went that way,” he added, pointing in the direction the girl had gone. “About five minutes ago.”

“Thank you!” Phoebe chimed, then turned to head that way.

“Actually Phoebe, do you have a minute?”

She turned around again, her curiosity piqued, “Sure Arnold.”

“Did Helga tell you what happened yesterday?”

She thought quickly, then nodded, “Yes, she did.”

“I apologized to her but I don’t think it helped.”

“Well, I am glad that you did. She was pretty upset.”

Arnold winced, “I know. It was wrong of me. I didn’t mean to embarrass her.”

“I know Arnold, and I think she does too. I am sure she will be alright with it. It was good that you apologized, though.”

“I feel terrible that I hurt her. It’s the last thing I want to do,” he said, distressed.

Phoebe thought that statement was encouraging. She had watched Arnold closely since the Academic Bowl. Well, since the start of the school year really, and noticed how often he now looked at Helga, usually with a little smile on his face. His actions on this trip, however, were what worked to prove her theory that Arnold was finally returning Helga’s affection, if not her love. 

After a pause, Arnold added, “I also tried to thank her for standing up for me last night.”

“Oh?” she asked, her thoughts interrupted.

“But she said something strange before running off.”

“What did she say?”

“First she said I didn’t have to thank her, but I said I had to. It meant a lot that she was there for me. Then she said that she has always been there for me and then she walked away. Do you know what she meant by that?”

Phoebe looked at him for a long time her brow furrowed into a small frown. There was actually a lot she could tell him to clarify what Helga said. She knew what her best friend had meant, but as much as she wanted to say something and hopefully move things along between Arnold and Helga, they weren’t her secrets to tell, especially not to Arnold. Arnold quietly looked up at her, wondering at her expression and the reason why she took so long to answer.

“I do know what she meant, Arnold, but I am not sure that I can be the one to tell you.”

He stared at her. “But…”

“That is something Helga would have to tell you. All I can say is that it is not the first time Helga has done something for you. I think if you think about supposed miracles that have happened in your life, you will find your guardian angel was much closer to you than you knew,” she said earnestly, before turning. She took a few steps, then stopped and turned to him once again. She knew she probably shouldn’t have said the next thing she did - she knew Helga would be really angry with her, especially if Phoebe had read all the signs wrong, but sometimes boys need that little push and she somehow knew she wasn’t reading the situation incorrectly. She looked directly into his worried eyes and gave him a half smile, “I know it can be hard to get through to her, but do not give up on her Arnold,” she said, then turned and headed in the direction Helga had gone earlier, and she also left Arnold sitting on the fountain, even more confused than Helga had left him.

* * *

Phoebe didn’t find Helga, though she followed where Arnold pointed her to. She did come across the rest of the class finishing up their game with the village kids. It looked like everyone had a good time, though she was particularly focused on the tall boy who was laughing with one of the young village boys.

She watched as the group broke up, everyone going separate ways to whatever interest captured them. Gerald noticed Phoebe hanging around at the edge of the small field in which they played and smiled at her. He waved a goodbye at his new friend and headed over to where Phoebe stood.

“Hey,” he said softly, smiling down at her, enjoying the flush on her cheeks and the way she smiled back up at him.

“Hello Gerald,” she replied in her high pitched voice that made his heart beat faster.

“Where were you? We had a good game.”

“Oh, you know that I am not that skilled at sports,” she hedged. “Besides I was looking for Helga. Have you seen her?”

He shook his head. “Naw, not since breakfast. We could have used her in the game. Though…” he started to say, then stopped, frowning.

She tilted her head as she gazed at him. “Though?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, Pheebs. I think Arnold went to look for her. He said he had to go back to our cabin, but I could tell he was lying.”

“He was?”

“Mm hmm. He’s not good at hiding anything and he didn’t go in the direction of the cabin anyway when he left the field.”

“Curious,” she said quietly. The two of them started walking toward the square where meals were served as it was close to lunch time. “Why is it that you think Arnold went to look for Helga?” she asked, eager to hear what Gerald thought and if Arnold had said anything to his best friend. Unbeknownst to Helga, the girls in their cabin had already been bugging Phoebe about what was going on between Helga and Arnold. Phoebe was vague in her answers, trying to cover up for Helga without actually lying and she’d become slightly stressed about it. So far, she had been able to keep silent.

Gerald rubbed the back of his neck, then looked down at her. “Something is weird. Arnold’s acting strange. Like he has a crush on her or something. But it’s not like a crush either. It’s like something more. I can’t explain it very well.”

Phoebe looked back up at him, unable to hide the pleased expression that stole over her features. He couldn’t help but notice it.

“Phoebe,” he said, narrowing his eyes, even as he stopped walking. “Is something going on between them?”

“Whatever do you mean, Gerald?”

“He’s constantly talking to her. They disappeared at that waterfall for an hour and he won’t tell me what happened there. He insists on sitting across from her or next to her, and I could have sworn they were holding hands after that story last night.”

Phoebe looked away for a moment, then looked back up at him. “Gerald as far as I know, nothing has happened between them here.” She felt safe saying that. It wasn’t a lie. The confession and kiss at FTi happened in Hillwood not ‘here’. “If something has, Helga has not told me and she usually tells me everything about Ar…” she caught herself and Gerald saw her flustered blush. “She usually tells me everything,” she corrected herself lamely. “Has Arnold said he likes her?”

Gerald shook his head. “No, not to me.”

Then he was completely surprised with what she said next, as they started walking again to the square. They had reached the edge and saw that Mr. Simmons, Mr. Collins and Jay had arrived and were seated at a table. The only other person there was Helga, sitting alone at another table. She sat, her hands folded in her lap and her head down. That’s when Phoebe asked softly in a sad tone, “Would something happening between them be such a bad thing?”

Gerald looked down at Phoebe and saw she was staring at her best friend with a look of tender compassion. He looked back at Helga and felt a sort of pity for her. He had never seen her look quite like that. He thought about Phoebe’s question and then about the way all their friends were teasing Helga and Arnold. He knew something was definitely going on, but couldn’t ask Phoebe about it as they had reached the table. He moved around the table to sit across from Phoebe, noticing how she lightly touched Helga’s shoulder as she sat down next to her. Helga looked at Phoebe with such a sad expression that Gerald felt that stab of pity once again. He also saw how much her expression brightened now that Phoebe was there and the two girls smiled sadly at each other. Then Helga noticed Gerald was there too and put back on her scowl and her mask, but Gerald had seen briefly behind that wall and he understood a little better why Phoebe was her friend.


	13. I Guess That's My Fault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold and Helga work on a project together, or rather Arnold does and Helga stays to watch, while Arnold recognizes what his feelings are more and more.

**Chapter 13 - I Guess That's My Fault**

Arnold found himself in Señorita Valdez’ classroom in the small school building on the edge of the village. He sat at one of the desks, elbows on each side of the open book resting on the desktop. The book was the one Helga loaned him on the plane. He cradled his head in his hands and stared down at the pages without seeing them. In truth, in spite of how much he enjoyed the book, he hadn’t read a single word on the page since he came into the classroom and sat down, craving solitude. He was getting annoyed with the comments from his friends, and Gerald’s puzzled looks and confused questions. Why was it such a joke that he liked Helga?

He was lost in his thoughts. Most of those thoughts centered around what Phoebe said to him. Arnold was still trying to sort out that when lunch happened. Lunch - where everyone was talking about him and his parents, about going in search of them and the ancient Green Eye temple. The girls were, surprisingly to him, ready to start the search that minute, but the boys, except for Gerald, were more reluctant. Then Helga, who had been silent the whole meal, jumped up from her spot across from him at the table, stomped over and thrust her finger into Harold’s face, her own expression angrier than it had been when facing Eduardo the previous night; reminding Harold what a good friend Arnold had always been to them and dammit they better get off their asses and help him, or god help her she would pound the snot out of them. All of which distressed Mr. Simmons and Señorita Valdez and amused Mr. Collins and Jay. 

He had to laugh at that. Helga had been so mild the past year that they had all been lulled into this false sense of easiness when it came to her. This abrupt reminder she wasn’t at all a complete softie and still had the ability to beat them up was shocking to everyone. Again he thought, like he did the night before, she was fascinating when in a temper and he was grateful she was on his side in this instance. Her fire did fizzle out when Rhonda and Harold teased her about how viciously she defended Arnold and she tried to ignore what they said, but her reddened cheeks spoke volumes.

Phoebe was right. Helga was there for him this afternoon and last night, but when was she there for him before? He racked his brain trying to remember ‘supposed miracles’ that happened. He knew about her help in the whole saving-the-neighborhood thing, and he was sure Helga told Phoebe about it, so he didn’t think it was that. But a miracle? The only thing he could think of that was a miracle was what happened on Christmas a year and a half ago. His Christmas angel? Could that have been Helga? That had to be it. He talked a lot about it after it happened, how it was a miracle. _‘How did she do it?’_ he wondered. Arnold didn’t know, but he wouldn’t be surprised anymore if it had been her.

He thought, too, that she was there for him at other times in the past. She found his missing hat…she helped him deal with Harold…she listened to him when he broke up with Lila…she even tried to help make Lila jealous…she spent that Thanksgiving Day with him…she saved him from that fake girl Summer. Thinking back, he realized how large she loomed in his life. There were a lot of insults, pranks, and threats from her, but when he thought about it and put those aside, there were actually more good memories of her than bad - happy times of laughing and jokes and fun and adventures and playing together as kids.

What did Phoebe mean by not giving up on her? What was Phoebe seeing that he couldn’t? Maybe she meant not to give up talking to Helga and trying to get her to be that person he saw at the waterfall? Could Phoebe read his mind? Did she know about all the thoughts he now had about Helga, how he felt about her? Was that what she meant?

Arnold reached down and shut Helga's book and stared at the cover, his hand lightly resting on the edge of it. Helga was like Holden in a lot of ways. He didn’t think she was self-destructive, but he could see the mix of character aspects in Helga the same way they were in the character of Holden. Holden wasn’t a bully like Helga had been, but they both hid behind masks for whatever reason. Arnold just couldn’t figure out why Helga felt the need to hide herself.

He looked over to the side of the desk, where the worn green journal that his father wrote lay. He reached for it and pulled it closer to him, moving _The Catcher in the Rye_ book aside. He flipped lazily through the journal with no real purpose other than to see the now familiar words written by his fathers’ hand. 

He heard the door to the classroom open, but didn’t look up until he heard his name called from the last person he expected - Helga. He looked up, surprised to see her standing by Señorita Valdez’ desk, her expression hesitant and uncertain.

“Helga,” he said softly, unable to stop the smile that spread across his face and wondered quickly why his heart sped up a bit. As much as she had purposely been avoiding him for a year, he was pleased that she had come looking for him, whatever the reason, and that she found him alone.

She took a couple of hesitant steps toward him. His smile made her nervous. “Gerald said you might be here. I, um, wanted to suggest something,” she said awkwardly.

He closed his father’s journal and nodded. “Sure.”

“Eduardo wants to leave in the morning,” she said and he nodded again. “I thought it might be a good idea for you to make copies of that map you have. Everyone should have a copy of it.”

Arnold didn’t know what he expected her to talk to him about, but this definitely wasn’t it. It took a moment for his brain to think about what she said and his confusion must have shown itself, because she explained herself a little more.

“Look,” she continued, “we don’t really know what we’ll be up against. If something happens and we all get separated…” she trailed off, then shrugged. “At least if everyone has a map, they should be able to either get back here or get to the temple on their own.” She looked at him a minute and then shrugged, half-turning away “It was just an idea.”

“No wait! It’s a great idea!” he finally responded. “I’ll feel much better if I know everyone will be able to find their way.”

She turned back and briefly smiled. “I thought I would suggest it. You’re the best at drawing in the class and I’m sure Señorita Valdez has supplies here,” she said, vaguely gesturing around the classroom. 

“I’ll do them now,” he agreed, then said after a short pause, “Can you stay and help me?” They were alone and he wasn’t about to lose this opportunity.

She blinked, then barked a short laugh. “Uh, I suck at drawing. Any map I copied would probably land some poor sap in Timbuktu and that’s not even on this continent.”

He laughed too, but didn’t want her to leave, “Ok, fair enough, but at least stay and keep me company while I draw.”

All amusement vanished from her and her eyes widened, the uncertain and sad expression returning. “Um,” she hedged, fidgeting a little with her feet. “Ok, I guess.”

“Great!” he said, standing and feeling like he had scored a point by getting her to stay. “Let’s find some paper and pencils.”

Together they ransacked Señorita Valdez’ drawers and supply closet and carried paper and pencils – both colored and regular – back to the desk where he had been. She turned the chair in front of his desk around and sat down, folding her hands nervously on her lap. Arnold flipped the journal open to the map, took a clean piece of paper and a pencil and started right in, drawing lines quickly and confidently.

Helga sat in silence, watching him. She felt awkward seated there trying to figure out why he wanted her to stay. She was still uncomfortable with him, especially after what he saw at the waterfall, but what he saw didn’t seem to faze him at all. He said he liked it and that she wasn’t crazy, but that confused her more. It would make sense for him to think her crazy; it was crazy of him to think her weirdness was normal. Why would he even like it? Wasn’t he upset with all the teasing their classmates directed at the both of them? The suggestions they were boyfriend and girlfriend? He had to be upset about it, but he didn’t seem to even notice it.

She hadn’t wanted to come looking for him, but she wanted a copy of that map. The idea of trekking through the jungle with her classmates and chaperones made her nervous and she didn’t like the feeling. Even less, Helga didn’t want to be lost in the jungle in case something happened. She wrestled with it all day, because Arnold _was_ the best at drawing in the class and anyway, he was the one who had the original map, but it meant she had to come and talk to him - all after her embarrassment at the waterfall. Now she found herself almost trapped by him. Why did she stay, especially after spending so long trying to avoid this exact situation? Because he asked her. Or rather, he told her to, and she couldn’t say no to him.

The silence grew in the room. Helga felt it as a presence and wondered why it didn’t seem to bother him. Arnold quietly worked on the map, coloring it in to match the one his father had drawn. It was a perfect copy as far as she could see. He put the blue pencil down and looked up at her with a smile. “What do you think?” he asked.

She looked down at the paper that he pushed across the desk toward her, turning it so that it was oriented right for her. “It looks perfect,” she approved.

“That didn’t take long,” he said. “How many more do I need?”

She counted in her head quickly. Sixteen more, but she added two more to the total. “I think eighteen more.”

“Eighteen?” he said with a grimace.

“There’s a lot of us,” she responded, with a slight grin, which he returned.

“Ok. Eighteen it is.”

He began drawing the second map, but this time he talked to her. Arnold told her about things he had read in his fathers’ journal, which he had practically memorized by now. She sat, mesmerized as she listened to him. In spite of feeling awkward and wanting to avoid him, his quiet voice was soothing to her and Helga found herself spellbound and unable to move, though deep down she wanted to bolt out of the room and hide somewhere. 

And then there were the adventure stories themselves, which Arnold gathered not only from the journal, but also from the stories his grandfather told him over the years. Helga had trouble believing some of the tales he told, but they were thrilling all the same. The combination of his voice and the studied movements of his hands as he drew and colored the maps lulled her into a sort of trance and she felt a calmness settle over her she had not felt in over a year. She thought she could happily listen to him talk forever.

As awkward as Helga felt, Arnold felt the exact opposite. He found it rather easy to talk to her. He didn’t look directly at her, but could see her in his peripheral vision as she watched him work. She looked interested as he talked and her expression had settled into a sort of half-smile. So he kept talking, being more talkative than usual with her. He told her things he had never even told Gerald about his parents.

He also couldn’t help the thoughts that kept popping up in his head. They were in a quiet classroom all alone, and the desire to kiss her was still there. Arnold would glance up every once in a while enough to see her lips, quirked into a small, cute smile as she listened to him. He had a mad thought every time he glanced up of lunging across the desk, grabbing her upper arms and kissing her as she had kissed him on the roof last year. It was all he could do to keep his hand steady and draw.

“There, I think that’s all of them,” he said, startling her out of her trance. “Can you count them to make sure?”

It took a second for her to collect her thoughts so she could count the number of maps he had drawn. “Eighteen,” she announced. “All here.”

“Good!” he said, lacing his fingers together and stretching his arms out to crack his knuckles. He reached up a hand to massage his neck, which was stiff from being bent over for so long and her fingers itched to perform that action for him instead. “Sorry for talking your ear off,” he added, grinning. “I didn’t even give you a chance to say anything.”

Her eyes met his and held them for a moment. Then she shrugged. “I didn’t mind.” She looked down again and counted out eight of the maps. “I’ll take these and give them to the girls and Señorita Valdez,” she said, standing up. “You can give the rest to the guys.”

He looked up at her, a little startled and, he had to admit, disappointed at her obviously wanting to leave. He hoped, after he was done, to take advantage of their being alone to talk to her - about everything from the past year…about what Phoebe had said. Maybe kissing her. Maybe telling her about his feelings for her. Wait, his feelings for her? “Oh, ok, Helga. Thank you for keeping me company.”

She looked down at him and he saw that the sadness was back in her expression. “You don’t have to thank me,” she said without thinking.

She saw a look of irritation cross his face and he sighed. “You know Helga, you could just accept my gratitude. It doesn’t make you weak to accept it if someone thanks you.”

Her eyes widened again in surprise and, he was pleased to see, a certain level of contriteness. “I-I’m sorry,” she said, looking down. “And, you’re welcome.”

He couldn’t resist a small chuckle. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”

She lifted her head but didn’t look directly back at him. Her eyes darted around the room, looking anywhere but at him. Helga hesitated, then said in a tone that was almost amused, but also somewhat sad “No. It’s just, you always say ‘thank you’ like you’re surprised that I did something nice.”

He stared up at her, his mouth slightly dropped open, but before he could respond, she added, “But I guess that’s my fault.” She said it softly and still in that amused/sad tone. “See you at dinner,” she said, then turned and walked out, closing the door firmly behind her before he could stop her.

For the second time that day he watched her walk away from him, but this time she didn’t leave him as confused as she did this morning. He understood exactly what she meant and he couldn’t help but laugh. A laugh that she heard as she leaned back against the door on the outside of the classroom. She herself couldn’t help but grin as well before walking away.

* * *

Arnold slowly gathered up the materials he had used to draw the maps and returned them to where he found them, making sure everything was neat and stowed away. When he walked back to the desk to gather his things, he smiled at how the two chairs looked facing each other across the desk. He enjoyed the afternoon, though Helga barely said a word. She did look as if she liked listening to him. He sat back down in his chair to think for a few minutes of their afternoon together.

He mused over all his thoughts about kissing her. Arnold knew it was because he liked the kiss she had given him at FTi. He wanted to try it again, only not as the surprised recipient. He wanted it to be both ways to see how that would feel. 

His main thoughts, however, focused on how he thought he wanted to tell her about his feelings for her. What did he plan to say about that? 

_‘I really like her. Like her-like her.’_ He thought to himself in surprise. _‘But even that doesn’t describe what I feel. It’s more than that…’_ He couldn’t believe how much happier he felt when he acknowledged that his feelings for her were more than just friendly, and more than just liking her. 


	14. Trust Me!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phoebe tries to encourage Helga...and Arnold has something to admit to Gerald.

**Chapter 14 - Trust Me!**

“Where have you been Helga? I have not seen you all afternoon. Señorita Valdez showed us some wonderful things at their little museum,” Phoebe asked as her best friend came back into the girls’ cabin with the maps in her hand. Phoebe was alone, having come in to brush her teeth and check how she looked before dinner. The rest of the girls were already at the town square.

Helga froze for a moment before answering, causing Phoebe to look at her curiously. “I was with Arnold,” she finally said as she went over to her cot and laid the maps on there for safekeeping.

Phoebe’s eyebrows went up. “You were?”

“Mmm hmm,” Helga murmured. “I went to suggest that he make a copy of that map for every one of us. He was in Señorita Valdez’ classroom for some reason. He asked me to stay while he copied the maps out.”

“He did?”

Helga nodded, then went in the bathroom herself to brush her teeth. Phoebe stood in the middle of the room waiting, her mind working around this new development.

When Helga came back in to the room, Phoebe asked, “So, you said Arnold asked you to stay?”

“Yes, Phoebe,” Helga said a little wearily.

“Well, that is a good thing, don’t you think?”

Helga sighed. “I don’t know Phoebe. It was just weird.”

“What happened?”

Helga told her everything that happened in the classroom, including her own feelings of awkwardness and how Arnold mildly snapped at her before she left and how Arnold had laughed after she left the room.

Phoebe thought over everything after Helga finished her story, a small smile playing on her lips. The smile irritated Helga.

“Helga, I know you refuse to believe this, but I honestly think Arnold might like you. I mean like you-like you. Maybe even more.”

Helga rolled her eyes. “I hardly think so Phoebe. He’s just humoring me cause he probably thinks I’m a mental case.”

Phoebe giggled. “No, I do not think that is it. He was concerned about you when I talked to him earlier.” She hadn’t had a chance to tell Helga about her brief conversation. Gerald and Arnold sat across from them at lunch – the only time Phoebe had seen Helga that day.

Helga stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

Phoebe told her about finding Arnold looking upset at the fountain in the square, and about what she said to him, minus the part of her urging him not to give up on her.

“Pheebs! Now he probably thinks I’m a mental case and a psycho stalker!”

“Helga!” Phoebe cried. “I said nothing about you being a stalker! Nothing that would even hint at that. I told him that you have been there for him, that is all!”

Helga hid her face in her hands, but Phoebe reached for her wrists and yanked her hands down, surprising Helga because Phoebe was never physical, but the shorter girl was riled up.

“Stop mentally bashing yourself! Start trusting yourself! Trust me! I see this whole thing objectively! Not as your friend, but as someone who can see when two people really like each other!” Phoebe cried in a strained voice. “Arnold is acting like a boy who has a crush on a girl, and he is acting like that to you! You are so wrapped up in putting yourself down that you are not seeing it! Why do you think everyone is teasing you?! They all see it too!”

“Phoebe…” Helga tried to speak, but her voice was weak.

“I am serious Helga! All the girls have asked me about it. Even Gerald has said something to me and he is usually clueless when it comes to things like this! Arnold has not said anything to him - Arnold may not even realize it fully himself, but a boy does not do what he has been doing if he is not interested in a girl! I have even noticed all year he has not been able to stop looking at you. And when he does, he is always smiling.”

Helga really wanted to believe Phoebe, but her insecurity kept a tight hold on her. Arnold’s rejection of her declaration last year still stung and she couldn’t get it out of her head. 

“He rejected me Phoebe!” she finally cried. “I told him I loved him and he rejected me! He looked horrified! What am I supposed to think?”

“A year ago Helga! More than a year ago!” Phoebe yelled, shocking Helga. She modulated her voice. “What was Arnold supposed to think when you told him? You had been telling him for six years how much you hated him, then all of a sudden that you loved him! No one can process that in the matter of a few minutes!”

“What did the other girls say?” Helga asked, distressed that she was being talked about.

“They asked if you and Arnold were a couple.”

“What did you say?”

“The truth. That you had not said to me that you were. I could not lie, Helga,” Phoebe said, frowning.

“No…no…I don’t expect you to. I bet they had a field day laughing about it,” she said bitterly.

Phoebe blinked a few times “No!” she cried. “No one laughed about it. They all seemed to think it would be awesome!” 

Helga snorted “Yeah. That’s why they keep making fun of me.”

“Just Rhonda, really, and that is just how Rhonda is. She even asked about you and Arnold and she seemed to think it was an awesome idea too.”

Helga just rolled her eyes.

Phoebe calmed herself down with some effort and took a deep breath, letting go of Helga’s wrists. “Look, let us try an experiment at dinner, alright?”

Helga’s eyes narrowed, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“An experiment. I will prove to you Arnold at least likes you.”

Helga gave a weak laugh. Phoebe would approach this scientifically. “What kind of experiment?”

“I want you to smile at him”

Helga stared at her blankly.

“I can almost guarantee that Gerald and Arnold will sit across from us at dinner like they have been for every meal so far. Arnold is as stuck to you as Gerald is to me. So I can deduce that the pair of them will seek us out and sit across from us. Every time they have, you have spent the entire meal staring down at your plate and scowling.”

Helga made a face at her.

“Exactly. Just like that. And yet, Arnold still sits across from you, staring at you with that little smile on his face he has almost every time I’ve caught him looking at you since school started.”

“He does? He smiles?” Helga asked. She knew he was staring at her, but not that he was smiling while he did. She assumed he sat there because Gerald wanted to be by Phoebe. “If he is, it’s because he’s laughing at my madness.”

Phoebe rolled her eyes. “I highly doubt that. At dinner tonight, look at him, smile, and see what he does.”

“Smile at him?”

“Smile at him, and don’t look away like you have done when he smiles at you.”

Helga shook her head, surprised that Phoebe had noticed that. “What will that prove?”

“Just do it and see. I also want you to be yourself. I know what a nice and funny person you are Helga. Let that person be the one at dinner tonight.”

Helga huffed and shook her head, her arms crossing defensively in front of her. “You’re the crazy one, Pheebs” she said, though her tone was a little amused.

“Trust me. Promise me you will do this. For me.” Her best friend insisted.

Helga could never resist Phoebe. Almost everyone thought Helga was the dominant friend and she pushed Phoebe around, but the truth was quite the opposite. Phoebe did do a lot of things for Helga, but Helga loved her best friend and would do anything Phoebe asked of her. Phoebe rarely asked and rarely extracted promises and, when she did, Helga could not refuse.

“I promise Phoebe,” she answered meekly.

* * *

After Arnold gathered his things together, placing the maps he drew between his father’s journal and Helga’s book, he decided to take them back to the boys’ cabin before dinner. As he passed the girls’ cabin, he could hear muffled sounds of an argument, but didn’t think much of it as he climbed the steps up into his. His mind was still spinning from his realization in the classroom.

He was surprised to find Gerald already in there, standing between their beds with his arms crossed and a strange expression on his face. Arnold felt his cheeks burn and couldn’t explain why he would have this sort of reaction to his best friend.

“Hey Gerald.”

“Hey Arnold.”

Arnold went over to his bed and placed the books and maps on top for now, aware that Gerald’s eyes followed all his movements. He felt self-conscious and tried to lighten the mood. “Something wrong? I have something on my face or something?” he asked Gerald, not quite meeting his friends’ eyes.

“Nope. Other than that blush you’ve got going on.”

Arnold laughed nervously. “Blush? I’m not blushing. It’s-it’s warm out.”

“Mmm hmm,” Gerald murmured. “Riiiiiiight. It’s not that warm out brother and I don’t think you put that much strain on yourself walking in here.”

Arnold didn’t reply. Instead he walked into the bathroom to splash water on his face and try to comb his hair. He saw, when he looked in the mirror, Gerald was right. His cheeks were red and he waited in the bathroom until it faded somewhat. He took a deep breath and went back into the main room. “Ready to go to dinner?” he asked lightly.

“Arnold, what’s going on?” Gerald asked.

“Going on?”

“Yeah. What’s going on with you? You’ve been acting weird this whole trip.”

“No I haven’t!” he cried. “I’m excited about maybe finding my parents! That’s not weird!”

“What I’m talking about has nothing to do with your parents, Arnold,” Gerald said, calmly. 

“Then I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said flatly, though he did. He just didn’t want to talk about it.

“Then let me be more specific. What’s going on with you and Helga?”

“What makes you think something is going on with us?” he asked, his higher pitched and trembling voice betrayed his feelings more than anything he could say.

“Because I have eyes Arnold. And ears. I’ve heard what everyone is saying. I’ve heard more than you have. You two are making eyes at each other all the time. You’re the one that wants to sit by her everywhere. You disappeared at the waterfall. Where did you go? Why were you gone so long and why did you come back with Helga? What happened there?”

Arnold hesitated, looking away from Gerald. “I can’t tell you about that.”

“Arnold, I’m your best friend, you should be able to tell me anything,” Gerald said with a hint of hurt in his voice.

“Not that. That’s something private for Helga,” he said, realizing that sounded bad. “I mean, I saw something. Something I can’t tell anyone.”

Gerald stared at him. “Don’t even tell me you saw her naked or something?”

“_What_?! No! Nothing like that!” Arnold cried, whipping his head back to stare at Gerald, and the blush returning full force at the idea. 

Gerald rolled his eyes. “Fine. You can’t tell me, but still. What about everything else? This has gone on a long time but I didn’t say anything. You’ve been turning around in your seat and looking at her all year. And on this trip, you’re always trying to talk to her, no matter how much she glares at you. Like at dinner last night. If looks could kill, I wouldn’t be talking to you right now.”

Arnold sighed, covering his face with his hands. “She was mad at what happened at the waterfall yesterday.” His hands dropped. “I apologized though, this morning, and I think she forgave me.”

Gerald waited a moment. “Ok, but that still doesn’t explain why you’re acting like you have a crush on her.”

Arnold looked down, frustrated. Hearing his feelings explained bluntly by Gerald irritated him, because deep down he knew it wasn’t just a crush. He’d never had an issue telling Gerald about girls he liked, but this was Helga and it complicated everything.

“Arnold?”

Arnold still said nothing.

“Arnold? We’re best friends. We tell each other everything.”

“You didn’t tell me you liked Phoebe,” Arnold said, surprised with himself for saying anything critical to Gerald.

Gerald’s eyes widened at Arnold’s tone. He realized Arnold was right. He had kept his crush on Phoebe to himself. It wasn’t as if he didn’t trust his best friend, it just seemed like a sweet secret to keep to himself. Saying it out loud made it too real and he liked Phoebe so much he was scared to truly acknowledge it to anyone, because if she didn’t feel the same... Then he blinked. “Does that mean?”

Arnold didn’t answer for a minute, then sighed. “Yes. I like Helga, ok? I like her-like her. I have for a long time. Something happened where I think she likes me back, but I don’t know if she does anymore. I know she did once. I’ve been trying to get closer to her, but you know how she is. Sometimes I feel like I’m not getting anywhere and sometimes I feel like I am. I don’t know what to do. She is so confusing…” he trailed off, finally looking at Gerald, whose eyes looked a little wild.

“Helga Pataki? You have a crush on Helga Pataki?” Gerald gasped.

That irritated Arnold more. “So Gerald? What’s wrong with that?”

“It’s-it’s Helga!” he cried.

Arnold shook his head angrily. “And she’s amazing, ok? You just don’t know…”

“No, I don’t! Everyone in our class was said it, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe it.”

“Ugh, everyone else should mind their own business. Why is it such a big joke that I like her?”

“Because she’s a bully Arnold. And she picks on you, that’s why!”

“She’s not really like that, especially not anymore. I understand her Gerald and I know her better than you. She is not the person she acts like.” Arnold looked away again, trying to calm himself. “As my best friend, I would hope you’d be more supportive.”

Gerald thought it over, his own thoughts warring with what Arnold said. He should be supportive, but still. This was Helga they were talking about. Why would Arnold like her so much? Then again, Phoebe was an amazing girl and she was best friends with Helga. He never understood their friendship, but Phoebe always seemed to be a good judge of character and a good person. Maybe there was more to Helga than he knew.

“I just want the best for you Arnold. You are my best friend and I want you to be happy. I’m just, I guess, really surprised.”

Arnold sighed again. “I understand. It surprised me too when I realized it.”

Gerald chuckled, which in turn made Arnold smile. 

“Arnold, I love you like a brother and I will do anything to help you. Even playing nice with Helga.”

“Thanks, Gerald. I appreciate it. I do feel better now that you know. I should have said something a long time ago.”

“It’s ok buddy, I understand. I’ve been there. Our question now is what do you do?”

“I just don’t know.”

“Do you want me to ask Phoebe? She should know if Helga likes you. Or I can tell Phoebe. She could tell Helga.”

Arnold thought about it. He had thought of talking to Phoebe himself. Her words earlier encouraged him and he thought he might get more out of her. “No Gerald,” he decided. “This is something we should work out ourselves. I have to tell her I like her, not have it go through someone else.”

“Alright Arnold, whatever you say. If you change your mind,” he shrugged. “I can still find out if she likes you.”

He shook his head. “I’m pretty sure she still does.”

“Mmm, pretty sure of yourself aren’t you, Casanova?”

Arnold rolled his eyes and laughed. “No, just sure of her and how she’s been acting around me.” He thought for a moment. “I think she’s not letting herself see that I like her back.”

“Just tell her then. You were able to tell Lila you liked her.”

“I know. Helga is just…different though.”

“You said that brother! All I can tell you then, is just keep showing her you like her. And I promise not to say anything to anyone,” Gerald said. Really, though, he planned to ask Phoebe about Helga’s feelings the first chance he got. He wouldn’t tell Arnold, but he had to know for himself.


	15. I Told You So

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Helga allows herself to relax a little around Arnold.

**Chapter 15 - I Told You So**

As Phoebe predicted, Arnold and Gerald sat down across from them at one of the tables in the square. Helga sat on the very end of the table with Phoebe next to her. She didn’t want another scene with Rhonda sitting on the other side, especially if she was going to try this silly experiment of Phoebe’s. What would smiling at Arnold prove? It might prove to him she was crazy. He had to think it already, even though he said he didn’t. She fidgeted nervously in her seat as Phoebe chatted with Gerald. _‘How does she talk so easily to him?’_ she wondered. _‘I can’t think of one thing to say to Arnold.’_

Arnold, however, watched her, amused once again at her behavior. She looked everywhere but at him and her body language was stiff and awkward. He could tell she was nervous about something. He hoped it was him that made her nervous. The more he thought about what Phoebe said about not giving up on Helga, the more he thought Phoebe was trying to tell him that Helga still liked him and that Phoebe hoped that Arnold liked her back. He had to admit the way Helga acted indicated he might be right in his assumptions.

Helga’s hands were at her sides, resting on the bench, but clenched in fists. She felt Phoebe’s hand touch her right hand and she relaxed her fist enough for Phoebe to wrap her hand around Helga’s and give it an encouraging squeeze before letting go. Something about this show of support boosted Helga. Arnold saw her close her eyes for a long moment and seemed to take a deep breath, then she finally met his eyes, which were focused intensely on her. Her heart beat fast as she did, determined not to look away.

Her widened eyes reflected her unsureness and fright, which surprised him once again. Arnold could not fathom why she should be afraid of him. He was honest when he said he didn’t think she was crazy, and she should know him enough by now that he would never tell anyone what he had seen. He held his breath, wondering what she would do. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about their afternoon in the classroom and how they seemed to get along.

She saw something in the green eyes staring back at her. She thought it might be hope mixed with curiosity and unsureness, but she also thought it might be wishful thinking on her part. Thinking of her promise to Phoebe, she felt the sides of her lips lift in a shy smile. The smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, but it surprised him even more than the fright he had seen. Was she actually smiling at him? And so timidly too? Helga Pataki timid? Arnold grinned at her then, expecting her smile to disappear or for her to turn away as she had done a few times this week when he smiled at her, but she held his gaze, her smile deepening and finally reaching her eyes, which brightened their blue color, and he felt like he had won some sort of victory.

It was interrupted, however, by a village woman placing their plates of food in front of them. For the first time since they arrived, Helga felt her appetite return and the kids all dug into their food. She kept sneaking covert glances at Arnold, which turned out to be not so covert as she hoped, as he was usually already looking at her when she’d glance at him. He looked pleased about something and when he did catch her eye, he would grin again. Her heart was in her throat and she had trouble eating, even though she was hungry. She couldn’t help but return his smile every time, before dropping her gaze shyly.

Arnold couldn’t believe this shy creature across from him was Helga. The pretty smiles returned to him every time he smiled at her made his heart leap. He was elated by the fact that a girl was responding like that to him. And what a girl she was, and Arnold hoped fervently that this Helga - the one from the waterfall - would not go away.

They were distracted by Gerald and Phoebe dragging them into their conversation, which turned into talking about the trek they were setting out for in the morning. Arnold told Gerald that he had made a copy of the map for everyone, in case they got separated.

“That’s a great idea, man!” Gerald said, smiling. 

“It was Helga’s idea,” Arnold clarified.

Gerald looked at Helga, surprised. “Good one Pataki,” he said grudgingly.

She rolled her eyes. “Always the tone of surprise.”

Gerald blinked, then laughed, which gave her a little more confidence.

They kept talking about the next day, but Helga wasn’t listening too closely. She kept glancing at Arnold and it seemed she did it at the same time he would glance at her. She was starting to feel a little self-conscious about the whole thing, even though it was thrilling to think maybe Phoebe was right.

“Alright kids!” they heard Mr. Simmons yell to get their attention. “More stories at the bonfire tonight!”

Arnold groaned and Phoebe, Gerald, and Helga all looked at him amused. Helga decided to take Phoebe’s advice about showing more of her true self.

“Oh, come on Football Head. I’m sure there are no more stories about you,” she teased. “They can’t all be about you.”

“No doubt, dude,” Gerald agreed, joining in. “I mean, once you’re a God,” he shrugged.

“Truly, Arnold. There really is not much else to aspire to,” Phoebe giggled.

“Gee, thanks for being such great friends,” Arnold deadpanned, making them all laugh.

“He could aspire to be, like, their head God, right?” Helga asked. “The Greeks have all their gods, but Zeus is the boss.”

“Yeah man, you don’t want to be a lesser God. You wanna boss all their other gods around,” said Gerald.

“You may have to battle the other Green Eye Gods though, Arnold” Phoebe tossed in, trying to look serious, though her eyes sparkled behind her glasses. 

“Ooo, do you have like a super power or weapon? Like Thor’s hammer?” asked Helga. “You need something to do battle with.”

“Zeus had thunderbolts. Those would be really cool for smiting your enemies,” Phoebe added.

“Seriously, Phoebe?” Gerald scoffed. “Does Arnold have enemies?”

Arnold was laughing, his hands held up in front of him. “Ok ok ok…enough! I get it! Don’t make me smite all of you!”

They all laughed.

The sun was mostly set and they saw some of the other kids get up to head over to the bonfire area. Before Helga could stand, however, Arnold leaned across the table toward her beckoning her with his hand to come closer to him. She hesitated, but leaned forward toward him.

“I want to be a gentleman tonight and ask you if I can sit next to you at the bonfire,” he asked in a whisper as he looked into her eyes.

She pulled back, staring at him. He grinned at her, and she could see the slightest tinge of pink on his cheeks and amusement in his eyes. Helga looked away for a brief moment before looking back and nodding silently, her own cheeks burning. His grin widened before he stood up and waited for her to get to her feet as well. The four followed the rest of their class to the bonfire and found places to sit - just like they had the previous night with Phoebe and Helga in the middle of Arnold and Gerald. At least Harold didn’t try to squeeze his way onto the log this time.

Señor Mendes rose once again and treated his audience to more tales. These ones, thankfully to Arnold, were tales from the village and had little to do with the Green Eyes. The tales were old legends told in the storytellers compelling way. The class and their chaperones once again found themselves wrapped up in the stories and sat spellbound as they listened to the old man. 

Except Arnold. He was completely distracted by the warm presence by his side. When they first sat down, she sat stiffly, her back straight and arms crossed over her chest. Listening to Señor Mendes relaxed her though. Her posture slackened a little, her arms uncrossed, and she rested her hands lightly on her knees as she listened to the storyteller. He kept looking at her right hand, the one closest to him. He remembered the night before, holding her hand and being comforted by it. It felt nice. Arnold wondered how Helga would react if he tried to hold it again, this time deliberately. A brief vision of her punching him crossed his mind, but he really didn’t think she would do that. Besides, in spite of threatening it, she had never actually hit him. He inched his own hand a little closer to hers trying to gather the courage to go for it.

He was about to take the plunge. His hand moved toward hers, but the storyteller finished his story with a flourish. Her hands lifted up to join all the others applauding Señor Mendes, and Arnold was a little frustrated that he missed his opportunity. He clapped, however, with everyone else, though he realized he had no idea what the storyteller had said.

“That was a good one,” Helga said to him, her eyes shining with enjoyment. “And you didn’t even turn out to be a god in it!”

He laughed. “Yeah, it was good,” he hedged, unsure if it was. “And I’m glad. I’ve got enough responsibilities being a god to the Green Eyes.”

Helga laughed too, not as abandoned as she did at the waterfall, but close, and he felt his heart give a little jump. His laugh trailed off into a happy smile and hers trailed off too, though her expression turned into something a little more unsure as they looked at each other for a few moments, before the storyteller began his next story. 

This time, Helga clasped her hands together and rested them on her lap, not giving him a chance to try and hold her hand. Arnold felt frustrated again and settled for shifting himself on the log to press his side a little closer to hers. She noticed, but didn’t think anything of it and enjoyed the rest of the storytellers’ legend.

* * *

Gerald looked over Phoebe’s head as they sat next to each other at the bonfire. He watched Helga and Arnold sitting awkwardly next to each other. He had watched the way the two interacted at dinner, the way they smiled shyly at each other. Arnold said he didn’t know for sure if Helga liked him back, but how could he miss it? Helga was crazy about his best friend. Anyone could see that. And Arnold was just as crazy about her. Gerald realized with even more surprise that this wasn’t a simple crush either. They more than liked each other.

Gerald could see, when they were still at the table, how pleased Phoebe looked about things. He definitely needed to ask her a few things. 

He looked at the small girl sitting next to him on the log as they waited for the storyteller to begin. Phoebe still had that pleased look on her face, so he bent down to her ear to whisper to her. Helga was on her other side, and he didn’t want the blond girl to hear their discussion.

“Does Helga like Arnold?” he whispered quietly, startling the girl. She was startled at his closeness, the tickle of his breath in her ear, and his question.

“What!?” she whispered back in a strained voice.

“Does Helga like Arnold?” he repeated.

She turned her head slightly, so that Helga couldn’t hear her. “Why would you ask that?”

“I’m curious.”

“But what would make you ask that?”

“He likes her. I’m just looking out for my main man, Pheebs. I don’t want him getting hurt.”

Phoebe’s whole expression lit up and she looked like she could barely contain her happiness. “He does? He told you this?”

Gerald nodded. “Yup, he is dead gone on her.”

Phoebe clasped her hands at her chest. “Oh! I thought he did!”

“So does she like him?” though he knew he didn’t have to ask, not only from what he had seen at dinner, but from Phoebe’s reaction.

Phoebe turned her head to glance at Helga, who wasn’t paying attention to her friend. Helga looked tense and stared wide-eyed ahead of her, so Phoebe could tell she was nervous. Phoebe looked back at Gerald and smiled. “Of course she does,” she whispered.

Gerald grinned back at Phoebe. Then the storyteller began.

* * *

The kids all walked back as a group to their cabins, trailed by the adults. They all wanted to get to bed early as Eduardo wanted to set out as soon as they could in the morning. He said it was a long hike to the temple and would probably take two days of continuous walking to get there.

Arnold and Helga had no opportunity to do more than say goodnight to each other, both blushing when Rhonda yelled out “What? No goodnight kiss lovebirds?” Helga stomped into the girls’ cabin and Arnold just shook his head, ignored the laughs, and went into the boys’ cabin.

In spite of the night being spoiled by Rhonda, Helga verged on feeling giddy. She needed to talk to Phoebe, but the other girls were there in the room and she had no chance to discuss what happened with her best friend without it looking suspicious. Phoebe looked at her sympathetically, also wanting to say her ‘I told you so’s’ to her friend.

The girls all got ready for bed, Helga pointedly ignoring Rhonda and the smug smile on the black haired girls face. She had the urge to scratch that smile off, but Phoebe kept giving her warning looks, so she kept control of herself. She knew the more she reacted the more she would get teased.

Señorita Valdez came in then to talk to the girls. Rhonda, Nadine, and Sheena all chattered away to the kind teacher, but Helga and Phoebe sat on Helga’s cot to talk in low voices.

“I told you so,” Phoebe said smugly.

“Don’t start Phoebe. It’s bad enough seeing that smug smile on the Princess’ face. I don’t need it on yours.”

Phoebe suppressed a giggle. “But my experiment was a success,” she boasted. “He asked to sit next to you. I told you a smile would work. He was all smiles during dinner, I hope you noticed.”

“I did,” Helga admitted. “I can’t believe he asked to sit next to me.”

“I told you he would show you in his own way.”

“What do I do now?”

“Keep being nice, Helga. Is it not amazing what it can accomplish?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed to get some cute and relationship-advancing things out of the way. More cute things on the way, but the search for Arnold's parents begins in the next chapter.


	16. She Really Does Like Him?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold and friends begin their search for the Green Eyes.

**Chapter 16 - She Really Does Like Him?**

Señorita Valdez woke the girls early in the morning to leave for their expedition. There were a lot of grumblings from the cranky girls, but they all got up and dressed themselves. They had packed their backpacks the night before, so it didn’t take them long to get ready to go. Helga went to each girl and to Señorita Valdez to give them their copy of the map, explaining that Arnold had made them each a copy in case anyone got separated.

“How thoughtful of him,” Señorita Valdez said and Helga didn’t bother to mention it was her idea.

She gave Phoebe a copy and Phoebe tucked it into her backpack. “Pheebs,” Helga said, handing her a second copy, “Hide this one.”

Phoebe looked at Helga confused. Helga had her own extra copy and folded it in half and then folded it in half again. She tucked it down her shirt and into her training bra. “Why Helga? You already gave me a map.”

“I gave you two. I have two. I don’t know, I just feel like we should have an extra one just in case we lose our backpacks or something.”

“Ok,” Phoebe said. “That actually is a pretty good idea,” she agreed, also folding the extra map twice and tucking it away under her own t-shirt.

Helga turned to her cot to grab her backpack, then remembered something. She dug into suitcase and came out with a large pocketknife her father had given her. She turned it around in her hand a few times, then knelt down to tuck it into her sock. She had no idea why, but she didn’t trust to leave it in her backpack.

The teacher herded the girls out of the cabin. Eduardo was outside waiting for them and the sun was starting to peek over the jungle canopy. The boys sleepily stumbled out of their cabin soon after. Helga blushed a little when she caught Arnold’s eye and he smiled at her, his hand lifting in a little wave.

“Alright everyone,” Eduardo said to the yawning group of kids. “We have a long walk ahead of us. There is some pretty rough terrain too, but we should all be able to make it to the temple without a problem. Just make sure to stay together. Did everyone get a copy of the map that Arnold made?”

They all nodded.

“Good. If you get separated from the group, come back here. We won’t be able to wait at the temple for too long and I don’t want all of you wandering all over the jungle. If you find the river, follow it downstream until it leads you back to here.”

They set out heading north from village, following the river upstream to begin with. They strung along in a long line, mostly by two’s save for a few. Eduardo was in the lead with Mr. Simmons. Mr. Collins, Jay and Señorita Valdez were at the end of the long line of the kids.

Phoebe, Gerald and Helga were toward the back of the line in front of their chaperones. Helga wanted to avoid her classmates and their teasing. Phoebe and Gerald were walking together ahead of her, chatting to each other. Arnold was up at the front with Eduardo and Helga was actually grateful for that. While she knew she would have liked it if he chose to walk with her, she was a little overwhelmed by yesterday and all the emotions she felt the entire day. She was still trying to process what had happened - a sleepless night didn’t give her any answers. She wanted to agree with Phoebe about Arnold possibly like-liking her, but her insecurity and his rejection the previous year kept pushing themselves into her mind and giving her cause to doubt. She had to admit that he was acting like he did like her, but that was crazy, wasn’t it? 

Her thoughts ran along these lines for the few hours that they hiked alongside the river. In spite of her chaotic mind, she did keep a sharp eye out on each side of the trail. Something about the jungle made her nervous, much more nervous than she ever felt in the city. Her sixth sense for danger was heightened tenfold here. She thought it might be the fact that you couldn’t see very far into the trees. Birds and monkeys chattered loudly as well, as they were disturbed by the group trekking through.

After a brief stop for a rest and some water they brought with them, the group resumed their hike. Helga fell into step behind Phoebe and Gerald again and was surprised after a few minutes to see Arnold waiting for them beside the trail. He did his handshake with Gerald and joined her in line with a grin. “Sorry I wasn’t here earlier. You know, to walk with you.”

She looked surprised at that. She certainly hadn’t expected him to walk with her. Helga would have liked him to, but she didn’t think it strange that he didn’t. Her wide-eyed, surprised look amused Arnold. He remembered when he had first gotten that reaction back during the Academic Bowl. He thought it quite adorable and was happy he kept saying things that got that response. 

“It’s ok. I didn’t expect you to,” she answered in a low voice, instantly regretting it when she saw his slight frown. She added, trying to explain “I mean, I figured you’d want to be at the front leading us.”

His frown smoothed out and he nodded. “I do like seeing where we’re going, but…” he said a little hesitantly, his hand reaching up to the back of his neck, “I think I’d much rather walk with you.”

“Oh,” she said. “Oh.” She looked away mentally smacking herself on the forehead. _‘How eloquent Helga.’ _ Her glance landed on Phoebe, or rather, the back of Phoebe’s head in front of her. She recalled her best friend’s advice about being nice, so she took a deep breath and looked back at Arnold, who was still looking at her. “I’m glad,” was all she managed to get out shyly before looking away again.

By looking away, she missed his smile at what she said. 

They walked in silence for a while until he spoke up, “You’re not tired or anything? I know we left really early.” As easily as he found it to talk to her the day before, he was at a loss on how to open up a conversation with her here among their classmates, though they were only in earshot of Gerald and Phoebe.

She looked at him with a smile, “No, not really. Are you?”

He shook his head, “I think I’m too excited to be tired.”

“I can just imagine.”

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” he admitted. “I just had so many things to think about.”

“Yeah, me too,” she said so softly he almost didn’t hear her. Arnold looked at her, but she was looking off in the other direction. He hoped he was one of those things she was thinking about to keep her up at night. She was one of his things. While he had thought a lot about this quest to find his parents, of course, Helga was also uppermost in his thoughts once again as he tried to fall asleep the night before.

She returned her gaze to him. “I’m sure you were up all night worrying about all this, all of us.”

She did hit the nail on the head about his main worry. He tried to think of a way where his whole class didn’t have to be involved. He didn’t want anyone involved really, except maybe Eduardo. Eduardo was his father’s closest friend, and Arnold was his parent’s son. No one else here had any personal connection to his parents, so having them potentially risk their lives worried him a great deal. He did have to admit to himself, though, that he was glad Helga was here.

“Of course I was,” he said. “I don’t want anyone hurt because of me. No one here has any real reason to be looking for my parents for me.”

She just shook her head, her expression amused. “No reason?” she scoffed. “None, other than that you’re our friend and have been for years. You’ve always been the one to help us, and that your classmates and your teacher actually care about you and want to see you happy? Can you not believe that your friends care that much about you?”

He looked at her momentarily speechless. Then to his surprise, Gerald said over his shoulder, “Pataki is right Arnold. We all know what we’re getting into, so cut your worrying and just accept our help.”

He looked ahead at Phoebe and Gerald, who were both looking at him over their shoulders. He felt grateful for his friends - all of them - and he grinned. “Ok Ok, I’ve got it. Thanks,” he said, satisfying the pair in front of them, who looked forward again and resumed their own conversation. Then he noticed Helga smirking at him. “Don’t say ‘I told you so’,” he warned.

“Then I won’t have anything to say,” she teased, laughing, causing him to laugh too.

* * *

Helga found it much easier to talk to Arnold for the next hour as they followed the rest of the class along the faint path through the thick trees. They talked about his parents, about the stories he had told her the previous day in the classroom, and he was astounded at her questions and how closely she had paid attention to him.

He was looking at her with an amused smile, which made her a little self-conscious. “What?” she asked.

“You really listened to me yesterday,” he said softly. “I wasn’t sure if you were. I just kept talking because,” Arnold paused, “I don’t know really. I don’t talk about my parents that much with anyone. It was nice to be able to talk about them. I thought you looked interested, but since you didn’t say anything, I wasn’t sure.”

Helga looked away for a minute and shifted her backpack a little on her back. “Well, I didn’t really have a choice but to listen,” she joked, getting a little chuckle from him. “But your stories, or I guess I should say your parents’ stories, were interesting. They sound like they are really cool people.”

Arnold looked surprised at that, which made her curious. Why would that surprise him? “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” he said slowly, looking down at the trail, a small frown on his face. After a moment, he looked up at her again, his brow still furrowed. “Everyone always talks about my parents in the past tense, like they’re really gone. But you just said it as if you believed they are still alive.”

For a moment, Helga didn’t know what to say. “I do believe it Arnold, because you believe it,” she finally said. “You know, you can talk to me about them whenever you want.”

He dropped his glance. “You don’t know how much that means to me,” he said in a quiet voice.

“We will find them, Arnold. I know we will.”

He smiled, meeting her eyes again. “Aren’t I supposed to be the optimistic one?” he asked, getting her to laugh. 

They had reached a stream that fed into the river they followed. Someone at some time had placed rocks across a shallow part to allow easy crossing. The rocks were flat topped and spaced to let the water flow uninterrupted. Everyone was crossing single file to the other side.

At their turn, Arnold stepped up to it first and jumped to the first step and turned to look at Helga while holding out his hand to her. “Take my hand. I’ll help you.”

She scoffed, “Like I need your help Football Head.”

He rolled his eyes at her, “I don’t want you to fall in Helga.”

“You think I can’t walk across these stones without falling?” she asked, laughing.

“Just humor me.”

“Fine,” she huffed out, though she was secretly pleased as she grabbed his hand. She always liked holding his hand, for whatever reason. 

He helped her across, glad that she had accepted his hand. Arnold knew she didn’t need help. Not only was Helga incredibly independent, he knew she was probably much more agile and nimble than he was and the odds of her actually losing her balance and falling was slim to none. He just wanted an excuse to hold her hand, and then not let it go once they crossed. 

Once across, however, she did pull her hand out of his, in spite of him tightening his grip. They were quiet for a few minutes as they fell back into the line. He sighed, unable to read her and her reactions. He knew she still liked him, but she wasn’t acting like it. Arnold was trying to subtly let her know he liked her back, but either she wasn’t seeing it or letting herself see it. For some reason, he couldn’t come right out and say it, like he had with Lila. Helga was a completely different girl. While he wanted to follow his grandfather’s advice and be a little more aggressive, he knew he had to tread carefully with someone as highly sensitive as Helga.

“You know, even if we don’t find my parents, at least I think I found something else here that’s just as wonderful.”

Helga looked at him curiously, only to see him looking at her intently. She cursed herself for the blush that crept up her cheeks, which only caused him to quirk that half-smile at her. She looked away, not knowing what to say to that. Arnold laughed to himself as they walked in silence for a while. As frustrating as she could be, he admitted that it was fun to get her to react this way. It was definitely time to be more aggressive in letting her know how he felt.

* * *

They stopped when the sun was overhead for a long rest and to eat something for lunch. The kids sank wearily to the ground next to the river. The little traveling cakes made by the villagers, and the extended rest, revived their energy and they were soon ready for resuming their hike in the afternoon. Once again, Helga and Arnold trailed behind Gerald and Phoebe at the end of the group, with only Jay and Señorita Valdez behind them.

“Looks like those two really hit it off,” Helga remarked, after looking over her shoulder.

“Huh?” Arnold asked.

“Mr. Jay and la Señorita,” she explained, jerking her thumb in a backwards motion to indicate the pair behind them.

Arnold turned his head to look. “What’s wrong with that?”

Helga shrugged, “Nothing, I guess. Just an observation.”

“I think it’s sweet.”

She snorted. “You would”

He turned his eyes on her with his half-smile. “What? You don’t think I appreciate love and romance?”

Her eyebrows rose at his tone. “Uh, I didn’t say that. But,” she tried to play it off with a joke, “you’re a boy and boys don’t get that stuff.”

He held her gaze and his eyelids drooped into that half-open, half-smiling expression that destroyed her. “Oh, I assure you Helga, I do.”

She again didn’t know what to say and was thankfully interrupted by a shout ahead of them. Eugene, who was walking with Sheena ahead of Phoebe and Gerald, had tripped over something in the path. He sat up, hugging his knee “Ow…I’m ok…but owwwwww…” Helga and Phoebe hurried over to him and knelt down beside him.

“Sheena!” Helga snapped. “Go get the first aid kit from Simmons.” Sheena started a bit at Helga’s tone, but ran up along the line of classmates to Mr. Simmons, startling everyone she passed so that they stopped in their tracks. She returned quickly with their teacher. They were all surprised when Helga took charge and bandaged the scrape on Eugene’s leg quickly and efficiently. She was brusque with the red headed boy, but her hands were gentle and soon he was up and ready to go.

“Thanks Helga!” he chirped, a little surprised himself. “I didn’t know you knew first aid.”

She shrugged, closing the first aid kit and shoving it back into their teacher’s hands. “My grandmother was a nurse,” she said. “I learned a lot from her.”

“Helga,” Mr. Simmons said, “why don’t you walk up front with me. This isn’t the only injury so far today. We’re all tired, so I expect there may be more.”

Helga looked uncomfortable, then shrugged. “I guess,” she said, looking at Phoebe, who just smiled at her. She sighed and followed Mr. Simmons toward the front of the line. Without a word, Arnold followed her.

“Are you sure you are alright, Eugene?” Phoebe asked.

“Oh sure, Phoebe, I’m great. She really did a good job. It doesn’t even hurt.” Eugene said, grinning and holding out his leg, almost falling again by losing his balance and only staying upright because Sheena grabbed his arm. “Who knew, right? Helga is a regular Florence Nightingale.”

“It is surprising,” Sheena said, laughing. “But I’m glad she helped you Eugene,” the tall girl said, looking ahead as Helga and Arnold followed their teacher to the front of the line. 

Eugene looked too, and still grinning, said, “Looks as if those two have become close. That’s good. I like to see people happy.”

“You think so?” Sheena asked.

“Oh yes!” Eugene said enthusiastically. “They are always together now and always looking at each other and smiling at each other. I’ve actually thought Helga has liked Arnold for a long time, but it’s only this past year that I think Arnold likes her back!”

Sheena then looked at Phoebe. “Is it true Phoebe? Are they together? I know you said you didn’t know, but it sure seems like it.”

Phoebe blinked and stammered, startled at Eugene’s comments and his accurate intuition. “I-I do not know. Helga has not said anything to me,” she squeaked out, looking at Gerald.

He looked uncomfortable too and shrugged, “Arnold hasn’t said anything either. So…” he trailed off.

Eugene laughed then. “Well, Helga’s been a lot nicer lately. If Arnold can do that for her, then I hope they stay together forever.” He and Sheena started walking again, Eugene with the slightest limp, but not too affected by his minor scrape. Gerald and Phoebe followed more slowly, glancing at each other. 

It was the first time they were alone since Gerald said something to Phoebe at the bonfire. Even there, they couldn’t really talk about their friends, who were sitting right next to them. Now they had the opportunity to discuss what was going on with Arnold and Helga without fear of the two overhearing.

“So…” Gerald began as they trailed behind Eugene and Sheena.

“So…” Phoebe repeated.

“So…” Gerald said again. “She really does like him?”

“Oh yes, Gerald, very much.”

“How long’s that been going on?”

“A lot longer than you can imagine.”

“I don’t know, Phoebe. I can imagine a lot.”

The small girl giggled. 

After a long pause, Gerald, who did have a lot of concerns about Helga, said, “I don’t know about this Phoebe. Helga is so…just…”

“Just what, Gerald?”

“Mean and bull headed. She a bully. She’s so rough and unfriendly. I don’t understand her,” he said, looking at Phoebe. “She’s always so unpleasant. I’ve…” he paused again as he noticed Phoebe frowning.

“Go on. You have what, Gerald?”

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. It was a question he had always wanted to ask Phoebe, but never had the courage or the opportunity. So he said it quickly and softly. “I’ve actually always wondered why you’re friends with her. You’re so nice and sweet and gentle. And she is,” he thought for a moment, “anything but those.”

Phoebe looked away, the frown softening a little. She thought a long time about what to say and how to say it, and how much to say as well. “Gerald, I wish you could know the Helga that I know,” she finally said, surprising him.

“What do you mean, Phoebe?”

“There are two Helga’s - the one she shows all of you and the one she shows pretty much only to me. I have tried so hard to get her to be her real self, but she is too frightened to do that. She has been this other Helga for so long, she is not sure how to be her true self anymore.”

He stared at her, though she still faced away from him, her eyes on the trail ahead. 

She continued, “I am friends with a girl who has this amazingly huge heart, is generous and fun and can make me laugh until I hurt. She is funny, creative, imaginative, passionate, and incredibly intelligent. She is constantly helping me in so many ways - with my confidence and self-esteem and my courage. Always encouraging me to stick up for myself and protecting me when I cannot. She is always supportive, she has given up many things to make me happy, and she is always showing me how much she trusts me. How can I not be best friends with someone like that?”

His mouth dropped open as he listened to her little speech. “Pheebs,” he said in a low tone, “that doesn’t sound like Pataki at all.”

“I know it does not sound like ‘Pataki’,” she said, using finger quotes as she said Helga’s last name, “but it does sound like Helga.”

“Why is she so scared of being like that around everyone?”

Phoebe didn’t answer for quite a few moments, but she finally said, “Helga is frightened of being made fun of and laughed at, I think. She bullies people so that they do not bully her first. She does not have a good home life,” she felt safe saying that, as she figured that it wasn’t something that was very secret at school, “and she feels that few people have ever cared about her. One person, I mean besides me, has shown they cared and right after that, she was humiliated about it. So she lashed out and for some reason decided it was better to strike first than to strike back.”

Gerald looked away and thought about what she said. He had no idea to what she was referring. He couldn’t remember when Helga wasn’t a bully. It just seemed to him like she was always like that. He knew they were in pre-school together and that he had been afraid of her then, so it must have happened before that? Or in pre-school? He had vague memories of pre-school and couldn’t think of anything happening there. He wondered who it was that Phoebe mentioned - the one other person besides Phoebe that had cared about Helga.

Then his eyebrows jumped up as a really vague memory surfaced. “Arnold.”

Phoebe finally looked at him, her expression confused. “I’m sorry, Gerald?” she asked.

He turned his head to look at her, his eyes narrowing. “It was Arnold, wasn’t it? The other one who cared about her?”

It was her turn to look surprised as her eyebrows rose. It was the answer he needed.

“I remember something. Something about him giving her something. He saw her about to cry and went to give her something and then everyone was laughing and she got mad,” he said slowly.

Phoebe just nodded.

They became silent, each lost in their own thoughts. Phoebe was thinking that maybe she had said too much. Helga was a private person and would probably be furious that she had said so much to Gerald. Phoebe also loved her best friend and really wanted her to let people know the real Helga. With the bully persona disappearing over the past year, Phoebe was hopeful that Helga would become more like the Helga she knew.

Gerald thought about everything Phoebe said and what he remembered. He knew that Helga picked on Arnold more than anyone else, which was one of the reasons Gerald didn’t like her. Yet why would she focus all that on one of the only people to be kind to her and to show her that he cared? It didn’t make sense to him. He had a vague memory of Helga smiling at Arnold as he walked away from her after giving her his…what was it…his snack? She obviously recognized at the time that he did something nice to her because he liked her, but what made it all change, and why focus all that angst on Arnold, who only ever tried to be nice? In spite of everything Helga did to him, though, Arnold always maintained that she had a good side. 

“I’m really confused Phoebe,” Gerald admitted. “Why was she mean to him, when all he’s ever done is try to be nice to her? I mean, it looked like she really hated him.”

Phoebe just smiled, which confused him even more. Did Phoebe think it was funny that Helga picked on Arnold? However, he was surprised at what she said, “Has she acted like that lately? Helga is very skilled at wearing masks and hiding what she really feels. She is scared of Arnold, or anyone, finding out how much she likes him.”

He blinked a few times, processing what she said, realizing that yes, Helga hadn’t been mean to Arnold, or anyone for that matter, in a long time. In the past few days he had seen a different Helga - one who spent the entire morning that day talking with Arnold like they were old friends. “So she doesn’t hate him?” he asked in a tone that was more statement than question.

Phoebe shook her head. “Not at all. She never has. Like I said, she has always felt quite the opposite. And I think Arnold knows that.”

He turned that over in his mind as well. “He does,” he agreed. He finally smiled and looked again at Phoebe. “He said he thinks she still likes him and he’s trying to show her he likes her, but he thought she wasn’t letting herself see it.”

“That could very well be true. Helga has convinced herself not only that Arnold does not like her, but that she is not worthy of him, which is why she is acting the way she is,” Phoebe mused. “She has a hard time believing anyone, especially someone like Arnold, could ever like her. She is not unaware of how she has acted all of her life. She just does not know how to break out of that.”

“Arnold doesn’t think like that about her. He’s always claimed she wasn’t as bad as she seems. And now,” Gerald shrugged. “He definitely has a crush on her. We need to do something.”

Phoebe looked at him surprised. “You think so? You want this to happen?”

“If she really is this other Helga and it will make my man happy, then of course I want it to happen.”

Phoebe’s expression grew happy and excited, which made Gerald’s breath catch. She was so pretty like this. “Good!” she squeaked. “We will do our best to help them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed this scene between Phoebe and Gerald. I imagine that Gerald would be concerned due to Helga's reputation, and I wanted Phoebe to clue him in to the nice side of Helga to set Gerald and Helga up for their own friendship. And I honestly head canon Eugene having figured things out as well.


	17. Someone Chose San Lorenzo?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold has a heart to heart with Mr. Simmons...and figures something very important out.

**Chapter 17 - Someone Chose San Lorenzo?**

The sun sat low in the sky when Eduardo decided to stop and make camp. They hadn’t brought tents - they didn’t have any in the village. The villagers did give them small woven mats to put on the ground to sleep on and they could use their backpacks as pillows. Not ideally comfortable, but it would work for a couple of nights. Eduardo assigned a group to gather wood, another to get water, and another to help set out the cooking supplies and food. Dinner consisted of cans of stew heated over the small fire. It wasn’t gourmet by any stretch of the imagination, but the hungry group ate it heartily as they sat in a ring around the fire. 

Helga was quiet at dinner and after, seated around the fire with the class. Arnold didn’t push her. He was conscious of the looks the two of them got from their classmates, and he was sure she was too. Arnold found he didn’t really mind what the class thought of whatever was developing between the two of them, but he didn’t want everyone to start teasing them again, mainly because it looked like she took it too much to heart.

Eduardo suggested they all get their mats out and get some sleep, and the kids and the adults wearily agreed to that. There was a tired shuffle as they pulled out the mats and spread them around. Phoebe left Gerald’s side and put her mat next to Helga’s. The two girls smiled their good nights to the boys and laid down on their mats, facing each other with their heads close together in order to carry on a whispered conversation. Arnold and Gerald sat by the fire for a few more minutes talking, but Arnold’s eyes were on the two girls, positive they were discussing him. 

* * *

Arnold was partly right in thinking the girls were discussing him. Helga’s mind was still a mess with her thoughts, so she focused on something else as she whispered to Phoebe.

“Looks like you and tall-hair boy are getting along just fine.”

Though it was dark, she knew Phoebe was blushing. “We are. We are able to talk so easily to each other.”

“I’m really glad Pheebs. I know he and I don’t really get along ourselves, but I like seeing you so happy.”

“Do I really look that happy?”

“You do. You’ve had a smile on your face pretty much the whole time he’s around.”

“I hope he does not think I am weird then,” Phoebe whispered anxiously.

Helga’s soft chuckle reassured her “Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that Phoebe. He can’t take his eyes off of you.”

“Really?”

“Really, but it’s been like that for a long time. You two have given each other love sick looks for years. So I’m glad that you’re talking to him now and finding out you get along too.”

“Thanks Helga.”

“Has he kissed you yet?”

“No!” Phoebe squeaked. “We have not even held hands really. Just that time at the bonfire. And we have talked. He has said some nice things to me, so I hope our relationship will progress to the next point sometime soon. Maybe when we get back to Hillwood.”

“You might have to be the aggressive one, Phoebe. Just grab him and pucker up. I’m sure he won’t mind,” Helga said, unable to help teasing a little bit.

“Oh my, Helga. I do not think I am brave enough for that,” Phoebe responded nervously.

“Well then I’ll make you promise me, Phoebe, if he hasn’t made his move by the time we get back to Hillwood, you should.”

She could hear Phoebe gulp. “Oh, Helga I couldn't!”

“Hey, you made me do something I didn’t want to do. Fair is fair.”

“Speaking of,” Phoebe whispered, trying to steer the conversation away from this promise Helga wanted. “It seemed as if you two were also getting along rather well today.”

Helga was silent for a few minutes and Phoebe was afraid she had fallen asleep. “I guess,” she sighed. “I’m so confused Pheebs.”

“Why?”

Helga whispered to Phoebe everything that the two of them said to each other and how he insisted on helping her over the rock bridge in the stream. When she told Phoebe what Arnold said about finding something here just as wonderful, it was all Phoebe could do not to cry out. Helga felt Phoebe grab her hands as she whispered excitedly. “Helga! That is wonderful!”

“Why?”

“He meant _you_! He had to have meant you, if he was looking at you like that when he said it!” Phoebe’s voice was strained with her whispering, and Helga shh’ed her.

“Do you-do you think so?” Helga asked, wincing at the pleading tone in her quiet voice.

“Yes! Oh Helga! He likes you! And saying that, I think it might be more than just liking you.”

She sighed again. “Sometimes I think that, but then I think there’s no way he could like someone like me.”

“Helga do not think that way. Arnold sees you for who you really are. He proves that with everything he is doing. Like crossing the stream. He knows you did not need help. I think he just wanted to hold your hand and help you. I know he likes you! Why did you let go of his hand when you got across?”

Helga thought it over. She wasn’t sure. She figured that he was being Arnold - a nice guy always willing to help whoever it was that needed it. She didn’t think about him maybe wanting to hold hands with her. “I don’t know, Pheebs. I guess, I don’t know. I figured he wouldn’t want to. He was probably just being nice.”

“Doubtful. I really doubt it. I mean,” she giggled softly. “No. He is nice, but we all know how independent you are.”

“I thought it might be my imagination, but,” Helga hesitated, “it did seem like he sort of tightened his hold on my hand before I pulled away. No, I’m sure he didn’t.”

“And I am sure he did! Oh, I am so happy for you Helga!”

Helga blushed, “Don’t be happy yet, Phoebe.” Then after a pause, “And don’t think I’ve forgotten to get that promise from you,” she added, laughing softly.

* * *

Arnold and Gerald were still by the fire on their mats, near Helga and Phoebe, quietly talking while the rest of their classmates, Eduardo, Mr. Collins, Señorita Valdez and Jay all dropped off one by one. Mr. Simmons sat on a log by the fire, trying to keep it going. Gerald finally laid out on his side, mumbling a “G’night, Arnold.”

Arnold stayed there, arms wrapped around his knees staring at the weak flames. He glanced to his side at the two girls curled up close to him. Phoebe was wearing a hoodie, but Helga was shivering a little in the surprisingly cool night at this higher elevation. She wore only a t-shirt, and while it was long sleeved, it was pretty thin. Mr. Simmons watched as, without thinking about it, Arnold stood up and took off the light flannel he wore over his own t-shirt and leaned over to drape it over Helga. She didn’t wake up, but seemed to snuggle under the warmth with a smile on her face. He smiled down at her, then walked over to join Mr. Simmons on the log.

The weak little fire crackled as Mr. Simmons leaned forward to place another branch onto it. “I’m afraid all of these branches are a little too wet to burn well,” he said in a quiet, but worried voice.

“I think you’re right,” Arnold agreed.

The teacher sighed. “Well, this is turning into quite an adventure Arnold.” He leaned forward clasping his hands and resting them on his knees.

“Yeah,” Arnold said vaguely, looking around the fire at his sleeping classmates. “I’m sorry I got us into this mess,” he said.

His teacher glanced at him. “It’s ok, Arnold. To be honest, this is probably the most excitement I’ve had in a long time.” He chuckled, “And I don’t mind helping out a favorite student.”

“Favorite?”

“I know teachers aren’t supposed to have favorites, but one thing you realize when you teach is every once in a while you get a student - or two in my case - who really stand out. Ones you know are going to do great things with their lives. It’s not only the grades, Arnold. I get kids every year who get good grades. No…” he said thoughtfully, “it’s just something about them. Those are the ones who make this all worthwhile and are a true joy to teach. You remember them long after they’ve moved on. You are one of those kind of students, Arnold. You are a good kid, with a good heart.”

Arnold couldn’t help but feel pleased at this unexpected confession from his teacher. “But it’s my fault we’re here,” Arnold replied, putting his hands over his face.

His teacher smiled gently down at him, “Why do you say that? Did you write the essay?”

Arnold looked at him, puzzled. “The essay? Me? No.”

“So how is being here your fault?”

He thought about it. “True, but us here now, that is my fault.” He paused, now that Mr. Simmons had mentioned the essay, he wanted to ask if it was Helga. “Mr. Simmons, you really don’t know who did write the essay?”

“As I’ve said from the beginning, I wasn’t **informed** of who wrote the essay,” his teacher responded with stress on the word ‘informed’.

“Oh.” He thought about the way his teacher had phrased that. “Have you figured out who did?”

“Yes, Arnold. It was easy to figure it out.”

“It was?” he asked surprised.

“Well, yes, it was. For me. Don’t forget, I am familiar with the writing style of each of you. You can’t deny the essay had a very distinctive style. One I recognized immediately.”

Arnold looked at his teachers’ passive face closely. “Can you tell me? I need to know.”

Mr. Simmons looked at him for a long time before finally saying, “I’m sorry, Arnold, but I promised the student I wouldn’t say anything. Especially to you.”

“You promised to not say anything to me?” he asked confusedly.

Mr. Simmons nodded. “I’m actually surprised that you, out of everyone, haven’t figured it out yet.”

Arnold wanted to come right out and ask if it was Helga, but something held him back. 

“If you’re really set on finding out, you probably aren’t thinking about it the right way,” Mr. Simmons continued. “Did you know that the prize wasn’t specifically for San Lorenzo? It was a trip for the winners’ class anywhere in Central America that the winner chose.” When Arnold’s expression turned into one of surprise, Mr. Simmons explained, “San Lorenzo **is** an odd choice when you think about it - a place no one knew much about - but that was the choice. Whoever the winner was could have chosen someplace more exciting anywhere, but they chose some out of the way place of which most of us had never heard.”

Arnold just stared at his teacher. “Someone chose San Lorenzo?”

“Mm hmm. With such an odd choice, I would think it was chosen by someone who had a specific reason to come here. I think if you approach it that way, you should be able to easily figure it out.”

Arnold thought that over as his eyes rested on the blond girl curled up under his flannel next to Phoebe. He recalled Phoebe’s words from a couple of days ago. His head swum as he fully realized Helga didn’t just win this contest. She had done it for him.

“Helga…” he said quietly.

Mr. Simmons smiled. “I promised not to tell you, but I told her that I couldn’t lie if you asked me if it was her.”

Arnold shook his head slowly, his thoughts spinning in his head.

“I said you were a favorite student, Arnold, but you’re not my only one. Helga is the other. Why do you think I have remained your teacher two years in a row? I requested it. You may not have known, but she is an exceptionally gifted writer. As young as she is,” he spread his hands helplessly again, “her creative writing is beyond anything I’ve ever come across. I wanted to stay her teacher to help guide her writing. I’ve been reading her work for a couple of years and the winning essay distinctly had her voice.”

“I thought the writer might be her, but I can’t believe she would do this for me. Why would she do this for me and not tell me?” he asked, mystified.

Mr. Simmons laughed softly. “I can’t believe you have to ask. I know that you kids think your teachers are clueless and out of touch, Arnold.” He held up a hand to block the inevitable protest. “It’s ok, it comes with the territory. You would be surprised at how much we actually know about our students. From your spot in class, you see nothing really but the backs of the heads of the students sitting in front of you. As a teacher, I see all of your faces and everything you do, even if you think I can’t. I see all the interaction and body language and silent signals that play across the class. I hear things, kids tell me things, it’s easy to see what all of you think of each other.“

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Helga has always been an interesting young lady to me. She’s full of contradictions. She comes across as this incredibly hard and tough girl, but she is, deep down, a completely different person from the one she presents to the world. The girl she presents in her writing and poetry is nothing like the girl on the outside. She’s built up this strong wall to protect herself, but she is a very sensitive, caring, kind and generous girl.”

Arnold nodded, listening. He had always known that about Helga, and believed it more and more as the years went by.

“That wall holds back a very emotional girl and she hides herself behind it. Why? What is she hiding?” he paused, then said gently, “I can’t say I know for certain, but after reading that essay, I can guess.”

Arnold looked down at his knees as his teacher fell silent. His jumbled thoughts focused on the essay. No wonder it took hold of his heart so strongly. It was about him. She wrote it about him and how she felt about him. ‘_She doesn’t just like me, she really does love me,’_ he thought, confronting the correct ‘l’ word. Helga wrote about pure but unrequited love, where you loved someone so much that even without the promise of being loved in return, you did whatever you could to make the one you loved happy. Why was he so dense? 

His thoughts shifted to that morning at FTi and her confession. Mr. Simmons had mentioned a metaphorical wall holding back her emotions. He had seen it break for a brief moment and that intensity had poured out and overwhelmed him. He should be grateful that Helga let him in, but instead he had completely messed it up with his reaction and tried to convince her that she hated him. Why had he done that? He knew he couldn’t process that quickly what she said, but he saw now she had to have taken it as rejection. 

He was horrified at what he had done. Helga, an intensely private girl, had poured her heart out to him and he twisted it around into some stupid heat of the moment thing. No wonder she avoided him afterwards- no wonder she didn’t want to talk to him. She had been humiliated and couldn’t face him. She told him the truth and he treated it as if it was nothing. 

He then realized he’d probably feel much different if he didn’t return her feelings and it gave him a little shock. If he really was indifferent to her, he’d feel bad, he knew, but not bad like he felt now. Arnold knew he liked her and couldn’t stop thinking about her, day or night. All the thoughts of being near her, talking to hear, holding her hand, kissing her - he was acting like a boy with a huge crush on a girl, but it was even more than that. He felt a lot different about her than he had about Ruth or Lila. Everyone else seemed to think that as well if the teasing was any indication.

He knew he felt so bad because he didn’t just like her back_. ‘She really does love me,’_ he thought again and couldn’t help the smile that crept over his features. _‘And I…’_ Didn’t he draw comfort from her just by holding her hand and knowing she stood by him? He was the one who reached out to her when he was frightened and confused. He reached for her unconsciously, without even realizing he did it. That meant something, didn’t it? She had even stood up for him that same night. Even though she thought he rejected her, she was still there for him.

Helga was the toughest girl Arnold had ever known, yet he felt protective of her. Sure, she was a tough girl, but he could sense how vulnerable she could be. He had seen her vulnerable expression before. He had seen her crying in the pool at the waterfall, which he realized was probably over him. And, he thought, she seemed always to be frightened of him. 

_‘She thinks I don’t care about her in return. That is why she is so sad and why she avoids me and is so jumpy around me. She doesn’t want to get hurt again.’_ He felt so guilty, because he knew he did care about her. He cared about her a lot and she needed to know that. He had to stop hesitating and let her know his feelings.

Mr. Simmons had been quiet so that Arnold could think, but he finally spoke up. “I know I’ve given you a lot to think about, but you should probably get some sleep, Arnold,” he suggested gently.

Arnold nodded and said a faint ‘good night’ to his teacher as he stood up and stepped over to his mat, which he positioned head to head with Helga’s. It took him awhile to fall asleep, as he lay there on his stomach, his arms folded over his backpack and his chin resting on them. He watched Helga sleep, though all he could see was the top of her head and her pink bow. He had always liked that pink bow, though he did wonder why she never seemed to be without it.

The soft (and sometimes not-so-soft snores) from his classmates led him to think everyone was asleep. He knew he should be too, and he was tired, but he could not stop thinking of the girl lying a foot away from him. He knew he should be excited about this search and hopefully getting some answers about his parents, but Helga was always in his thoughts now. He guessed it was because she was so immediate and here in front of him and he now knew how he felt about her. 

He reached out a hand and gently touched the pink bow and was surprised at the softness of the fabric. It looked dark in the glow from the fire, but her blond hair was tinged red. Helga had taken out the ponytails, and her hair splayed around her backpack, already gathering into tangles. Feeling a slight bit bolder and thinking that no-one could see him, he gathered strands of her hair in his hands and marveled at the silkiness of it. It shimmered redly in the firelight and seemed alive in his hands and Arnold couldn’t stop playing with it and twisting it around his fingers.

* * *

Phoebe smiled to herself as she watched Arnold playing with Helga’s hair while her best friend slept. She kept her eyelids half-closed so he wouldn’t realize he was being watched. She finally fell asleep after he withdrew his hands and turned over to fall asleep himself.

* * *

When the next day dawned, Helga woke up surprised to find Arnold’s shirt covering her. She sat up, confused, and gathered it in her hands, staring at the red plaid fabric. She lifted it a little toward her face about to smell it (he always smelled so good). As she was lifting the shirt, she looked over at him, only to see him sitting there, arms wrapped around his knees, looking back at her with that half smile of his. She blushed a bright red and looked away toward their classmates. No one else had woken up yet. 

“You looked cold,” he explained quietly.

She blinked a few times. “Th-thanks…” she returned just as quietly, thanking all the gods above and below and from every religion she could think of that she hadn’t actually buried her face in the shirt and sniffed it in front of him. “Weren’t you cold?”

“A little,” he admitted, “but it’s ok.”

She settled the shirt in her lap and lifted her hands to pat her hair straight, raking fingers through the tangles in her hair without disturbing the ever-present pink bow at the crown of her head, which still held some of her hair back. “I need a week in a shower and a tub of conditioner for my hair,” she joked, trying to control the redness of her face.

She heard him chuckle. “Me too.”

She looked at him, unnerved by how intensely he stared at her. She bunched up his flannel and tossed it accurately toward him, which he caught. “Thanks again Football Head,” she said. “Very gallant of you.”

“Oh you know me, Helga. Always your knight in shining armor,” he commented.

She blinked, her expression confused. She didn’t know what to say, but was thankfully interrupted by Gerald waking up with a loud yawn and stretch, which woke Phoebe up. Soon the rest of the class was awake and Helga was able hide her confusion in the preparation to continue in their quest for the temple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have this head canon that Mr. Simmons knows more than anyone would think...and I see him as a sort of good authority figure for Arnold. His grandparents do such a great job raising him, but their advice can be a little eccentric, to say the least! I really could picture Mr. Simmons helping Arnold...and WANTING to help Arnold...realize his feelings for Helga. The talk at the campfire was one of the first scenes I wrote for this fic.


	18. Don't Argue With Me!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trek continues, except it's interrupted...

**Chapter 18 - Don't Argue With Me!**

Gerald, Phoebe, Helga and Arnold trailed behind the rest of the class as they straggled through the jungle underbrush. There was a trail, but it was long unused and faint. They could hear the closest pair in front of them, Eugene and Sheena, as well as Jay and Señorita Valdez, who lingered even further behind them. Gerald and Helga were mock-arguing over a movie they had both seen, while Arnold and Phoebe watched in amusement. 

Helga suddenly stopped dead in her tracks, holding up her arms.

“Nuh-uh Pataki. You don’t understand what the actor was…” Gerald continued, grinning.

“Shh!” she hissed, and he did, startled by the look on her face.

Then the other three heard it - shouts in another language and screams from the girls in their class. Then four or five popping sounds. The four looked at each other for a few seconds, then something else in that language was shouted close by.

“Run!” Helga whispered, grabbing Arnold’s hand and dragging him in a run away from their class. Phoebe and Gerald followed.

“Helga!” Arnold gasped, “Our class!”

“Just run!” she cried, seeming to run blindly, dodging the underbrush and rocks and fallen trees as she did. She had let go of his hand and was faster than the other three, but they all stayed close together.

They were completely winded when she finally stopped to catch her breath. They were at the edge of a clearing and leaned against a grouping of trees as their ragged breathing returned to normal. 

“Shhhh….” Helga warned and cocked her head as if listening for any sounds. They all heard, from what seemed like a long distance, someone crashing through from the direction they came.

While her friends all looked at each other, Helga looked up at the trees.

“I think we should hide. Up there,” she suggested, pointing at a tree a few yards away. It had a low branch they could probably reach if one of them was boosted up. All four of them jogged to the tree and looked up into the branches.

“The branches and leaves are so thick in these trees no one would be able to see us. Come on! Let’s get Phoebe up first!”

Without questioning her, Arnold and Gerald joined their hands for Phoebe to step into. They hoisted her up to the branch and she was able to get her hands around it and swing herself up.

“You next Helga,” Arnold said. 

“Uh, no. You need to help pull Gerald up,” she said.

“No! Don’t argue with me!” he snapped. “I want you and Phoebe safe first.”

Helga stared for a second at his determined face and then nodded. The boys lifted her up to the first branch, while Phoebe scrambled up higher into the tree. She then hooked her legs over another branch and leaned down to grab Arnold’s hand as Gerald boosted him up towards her. She pulled with all her strength until Arnold was able to grab the lowest branch.

“What about Gerald?” Arnold gasped.

Helga looked around and saw what she was hoping for. A vine. She pointed at it and Arnold reached over to yank it towards him. It wasn’t particularly strong looking, but he tossed the end down to Gerald, who grabbed it. With Arnold and Helga pulling and Gerald walking up the trunk, they were able to get him up into the tree too. Arnold pulled the vine up as Helga and Gerald followed Phoebe higher up into the tree, where Arnold soon joined them.

The tree was like many in the jungle in that area - large and leafy. They each straddled a branch and looked down, but couldn’t see the ground, so they were fairly certain no one could see them. As their adrenaline high calmed down, they all looked at each other.

“Why did we run?” Gerald demanded.

“Our class got ambushed,” Helga replied.

“Ambushed?” he exclaimed.

“You didn’t hear it? The girls were screaming, those guys were shouting at them in Spanish.”

“But Helga how do you know it was an ambush? Maybe it was the Green Eyes?” Phoebe asked in a small voice.

“It’s the only thing that makes sense. The Green Eyes don’t speak Spanish. Or use guns,” said Helga.

“Guns!” Phoebe squeaked.

“Didn’t you hear the gunshots?”

“Is that what that was?” Arnold asked, shocked.

Helga nodded. “I’ve heard that sound before.”

The other three looked sick and worried. “Our class…” Phoebe said faintly.

“They are fine. I’m sure of it,” Helga insisted. “The shots were fired into the air. I think to scare our friends.”

“Are you sure?” Phoebe asked.

“Positive,” she said confidently.

A noise from below silenced them. Two men were speaking to each other in Spanish as they neared the tree where the kids hid.

All four looked at each other, barely daring to breath. Gerald reached up to Phoebe and she grabbed his hand. Arnold looked to Helga, wondering if he should comfort her the same way, but she had cocked her head and seemed to be listening intently to the conversation moving closer to them. She did, however, look at him with her eyes narrowed, but, he detected with a surge of admiration for her, with no fear.

It sounded as if the men stopped nearly beneath the tree and seemed to be arguing with each other. Arnold had no idea what they said, though he listened, hoping one of them would at least say something in English. Why had he never thought to learn Spanish?

After what seemed hours, but was only a few minutes, the pair below drifted away, still arguing over whatever they were arguing about. Helga seemed to relax, so the other three did as well. It was another ten minutes, though, before any of them dared to speak.

“I think we should stay up here a little longer. I can’t tell if they went back towards where our class was or the other way. I think back to the class, but I’d hate to be wrong,” Helga said in a low voice.

“I’ll stay up here all night,” Gerald declared. 

“We cannot do that. We need to find out what happened to our class,” Phoebe said.

“If any of them are hurt…” Arnold said in a strained voice. 

“Don’t think that, Football Head,” Helga said. “No one is hurt. I told you those shots were fired into the air.”

“How can you be sure?” he asked anxiously.

“I just am, trust me. Our class was…I think captured, but no one is hurt.”

She spoke with such conviction, he found himself believing her. But how could she know?

“Phoebe is right, though. We can’t stay in this tree. We can get down in awhile and see if we can figure out where we are. I know Eduardo said if we get separated to head back to the village. But this is Arnold’s search and we need to get him to the Temple,” she continued.

“No! I can go on! You three need to get back and find someone to help our class. I want you three safe!” Arnold said, glaring angrily at his three friends.

They all returned his look calmly. “I don’t think so buddy,” Gerald told him. “You’re stuck with us and don’t even think of arguing with me, or these girls. You’re outvoted, so give it up.”

Arnold seethed, but said nothing else.

They remained up in the tree for almost another hour, barely talking as Arnold pointedly glared at all of them. “Come on,” Helga finally said. “Let’s see where we are.”

Phoebe and Gerald clambered down the tree branches after her. Arnold followed more slowly. He was angry at his friends, but was angrier at himself. He felt horribly guilty about his class and terrified of what had happened to them. Helga’s assurances that they were alright were just empty words. How could she know what happened? She ran like he did. Like Phoebe and Gerald did. Were they cowards? Should they have stayed with their class? He couldn’t live with himself if something happened. What if something happened to Gerald or Phoebe? Or, and here his breath caught and his heart seemed to stop for a moment, Helga? 

When he finally jumped from the lowest tree branch to the ground, Helga was already calmly looking over the map, with Gerald and Phoebe looking over her shoulder. “You’re the map expert, Arnoldo,” she said, “what do you think?”

He was surprised at her tone and her use of one of her nicknames for him. It was so matter of fact and unworried that he almost felt comforted. He shook his head as if to clear out the bad thoughts and took the map from her. “I think we should head back towards where our class was and find the river. That’s the easiest way to the Temple.”

“But those men,” Phoebe asked nervously. “What if they are there waiting?”

Helga thought about it, staring at the map. “I think we’ll have to chance it. We zigzagged so much running that I’m not sure where we are. We need to at least find the river to get our bearings.”

Arnold turned and walked out into the clearing and looked up, then at his watch. “The sun is setting so that way should be west. I think if we head in that general direction we should meet up with the river at some point. It was on our left before we ran.”

“Good thinking,” Gerald agreed.


	19. What Are You Doing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four friends wander about the jungle until they have to take shelter in a cave.

**Chapter 19 - What Are You Doing?**

“That looks like a cave!” Gerald said in excitement, pointing at a dark recess behind a bush.

The four found the river, much faster than they thought they would. The river had a rather major bend in it that turned north, so they assumed they were past the bend. At this point, the river ran through a small canyon and the kids began to look for somewhere to spend the night. The sun sank lower in the sky every passing moment.

“Does anyone have a flashlight?” Arnold asked, looking at his friends. 

“I do!” Phoebe said, pulling off her backpack and opening it to dig through. She silently handed it to Arnold.

“I’ll go in and see if it looks safe,” he said, stepping up to the bush.

“Be careful,” Helga warned him. He turned his head to grin at her before pushing aside the branches of the bush and clicking on the flashlight.

The opening was narrow and extended a few feet into the cliff before turning sharply to the right. At the turn, a hollow opened out that was small but roomy enough for the four of them. Arnold stopped just inside the small cave and was immediately bumped into by Helga.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, turning to shine the flashlight on her.

She huffed, annoyed, and held up her hand to block the bright light. “Making sure you’re not eaten by a panther or something, Football Head,” she retorted. 

He shook his head and turned away from her to shine the light all over the cave. “I think this looks ok,” he said.

She stepped up beside him and yanked the light out of his hands. “Let me look!” He didn’t have the heart to argue with her, so he stood at the opening of the room watching as she prowled around the cave, swinging the light back and forth on the floor and up along the walls. “Ok,” she finally said, returning to him, “I don’t think this cave is occupied.”

“Occupied?” he asked.

She looked at him with a smile. “There’s no bones anywhere, or crap, so I’m pretty sure no animal is living here.”

He blinked a few times, thinking that over. He hadn’t even thought of an animal living here, though it did make sense it would make a good den.

She continued, “That sort of stuff would tell me this place is occupied. I also didn’t see any other recesses or anywhere for an animal to hide. No bats on the ceiling either, and no cobwebs. We should be safe. The floor is fairly smooth and I think we can even make a small fire. Since that passage turns, we can probably get away with one and no one would see it, especially if we cover the opening with more bushes…”

He was staring at her open-mouthed as she trailed off. “What?” she asked self-consciously.

“How-how do you know all this?” Arnold gasped.

She looked more self-conscious as she shrugged. “I read a lot. Come on. Let’s get Phoebe and Gerald and some firewood. I think Phoebe had a few cans of that disgusting stew left, so at least we can eat.”

* * *

Gerald crossed his arms and looked down at Phoebe, who was trying not to laugh, as Helga disappeared after Arnold into the cave opening. The blond girl had muttered “The Football Head is just going to get himself killed going in by himself” before she pushed her way past the bush at the opening and went after him.

“Mmm hmm,” Gerald hummed to himself.

Phoebe giggled. “It is rather amusing to watch those two. Though,” she added, her expression turning into a slight frown, “they are making me a little mad. Could Arnold move any slower?”

Gerald, however, chuckled. “You have to move slow with someone like Helga. One wrong move and she’ll tear his head off,” he joked, which did get Phoebe’s frown to change to a slight smile. 

“I do not know why they are dancing around what is going on. You and I can see it as plain as day.”

“Sure we can, Pheebs,” he spoke in a fairly low tone because he didn’t know how far into the cave the two had gone.

“I know why Helga is so hesitant. Why does Arnold not say anything to her?”

Gerald looked at Phoebe, curiously. Helga had a reason? He wondered what it was. He shrugged. “Like I said yesterday, he said he knew she liked him once, but didn’t know if she still did. How the boy can miss that she does, I don’t know. It’s obvious to me. But he is sort of dense sometimes. He said Helga is different from other girls, so he is trying to let her know slowly.”

Phoebe sighed. “He should just _say_ something. I know Helga would respond happily to Arnold’s affections, should he choose to show her.”

* * *

The cave turned out to be a perfect refuge for them. They built a fire at the far end of the cave, then piled some extra bushes at the opening. Helga and Arnold went out to check to see if the glow from the fire could be seen from the outside. There was the faintest glow, but they decided it would be fine. The fire was small as they found little to keep it going, but it filled the small cave with a warm and beautiful light. Gerald couldn’t stop looking at Phoebe as they ate from the same can of stew heated by the fire. He thought she looked even more pretty by firelight. They had immediately moved to share the same can, so that Arnold and Helga had to share one.

Arnold and Helga avoided looking at each other as they ate. She was keyed up and nervous for reasons she couldn’t explain to herself. He was still reeling from the guilt of running away from their class and had trouble eating. He was also nervous and thought it was significant they were sharing this can of food. Logically she and Phoebe should have shared a can and he and Gerald should have shared the other, but somehow they ended up paired off differently and that made him nervous. His realizations from the evening before made him jumpy. He was waiting for an opportunity to talk to her, but the brief times they were alone didn’t seem like the right time.

Arnold was also thinking about the sleeping arrangements. The cave was small and they’d all have to be fairly close together. Part of him was nervous about it, but part of him hoped he and Helga would be next to each other. And that made him even more nervous.

He did get his wish when they laid out their woven mats to sleep. He and Helga were next to each other. Arnold suspected Gerald and Phoebe were the ones that made that happen and he mentally thanked them. He didn’t miss the look Phoebe and Gerald gave each other when Gerald suggested they get some sleep. Gerald and Phoebe were the first to their mats and laid them out in a way that Helga and Arnold had no choice where to lay theirs. Helga lay her mat next to Phoebe and he put his on the other side of her. They all sleepily said good night and lay down, Helga facing Phoebe with her back to him.

When Arnold heard her breathing slow down he reached forward the few inches between them and played with her hair again. It was much more tangled than it was the night before. He gently worked out some of the knots with his fingers, smiling at the still-silky texture. Arnold thought dreamily that he would love to always play with her hair like this.

He snatched his hand back and closed his eyes when Helga stirred and then turned over in her sleep so that she was facing him. Arnold made sure she was still breathing deeply in sleep before he peeked again and looked at her in the warm glow of the dying fire. She was only about a foot away from him and some of her hair had fallen over her face. He reached toward her again and gently brushed her hair away so he could see her. He then let his fingers slide over her cheek before pulling his hand away, thrilling at the softness of her skin. He watched her for awhile as she slept, then noticed her hand was lying palm down on the mat in front of her. He put his hand over hers before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Helga came out of sleep slowly. She had a pleasant dream of Arnold. Nothing crazy, just nice; mostly him doing sweet and endearing things, like touching her hair and face and holding her hand. She could feel as she opened her eyes, that she was smiling, and probably had been in her sleep. The smile disappeared though, as she focused her eyes in the dim light of the cave and saw not Phoebe as she had expected, but those beautiful green eyes that haunted her day and night. She didn’t know what to think. Arnold was lying next to her, watching her. She returned his stare.

“Morning,” he said quietly.

“Morning,” she said automatically, then her eyes narrowed. “Were you watching me sleep?”

Unexpectedly, he was honest with her, “Yes”

“Um, why?”

He shrugged with one shoulder, the one he wasn’t lying on, and said in that low tone, “You looked so peaceful and you were smiling. I was wondering what you were dreaming about.”

She almost said _“You”_, but she bit her tongue. “Um,” she said nervously, “I don’t remember.”

“That’s too bad. It had to be good the way you were smiling.” He seemed to think for a minute, then hesitatingly said, “I had a nice dream, too.”

That confused her and shey wondered why he was said it. “Oh?”

“Mm hmm, and I remember it,” he said, his eyes locked onto hers. “Would you like to hear it?”

She wanted to turn away, but she couldn’t. His eyes mesmerized her and made her feel powerless. “Uh, if you want to share.”

Arnold didn’t say anything for a few moments. When he finally opened his mouth to tell her, he only got the word “You” out before Gerald yawned loudly on Phoebe’s other side as he sat up and broke the spell Arnold held over Helga.

“G’morning,” he said, yawning again.

Helga turned over toward Phoebe as Arnold rolled on his back, thoroughly irritated at his best friend. He was, however, able to keep his voice even as he said “Good morning” back to Gerald.


	20. I Will Fight if I Need To

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captured! And a daring escape attempt!

**Chapter 20 - I Will Fight if I Need To**

The four friends trekked through the jungle toward the temple. Arnold was in the lead, holding the copy of the map he had drawn from the original in one hand and a compass in the other. Helga followed behind him silently; behind her, Phoebe and Gerald brought up the rear. They had been walking for over an hour.

Arnold stopped suddenly, holding up the hand holding the compass. “Shh…”

“Arnold, what?” Helga began to ask when suddenly, from the trees, six men with guns stepped out and surrounded the kids.

“Hey, what’s the idea!” Helga demanded.

“Shut up!” one of the men growled.

Another man also stepped out of hiding from the trees holding a machete in his right hand, and pushed up the mask he wore over his face with his free hand. His pock-marked face was graced with a sneer as he looked over the four kids. “Well…well…well…if it isn’t the rest of the kids from that little class. All alone. Separated from their teachers.” He looked more closely at Arnold and stared thoughtfully at the young boy for a long time. “And just the one I was looking for,” he added in a thoughtful soft voice that shot a dart of fear through Arnold. This had to be La Sombra, and his eyes looked dark and dead, though there was a sharp gleam in them as he looked at Arnold. 

The other kids glared at him.

“Trying to get to the Temple? I think we’ll make a little detour,” he said, stepping closer and grabbing the map from Arnold’s hand.

“Hey that’s mine!”

La Sombra gave him a pitying look, “And now it’s mine.” He turned around to walk away. “Bring them,” he ordered. “And you don’t have to be gentle.”

One of the men grabbed Helga roughly by the arm. She struggled and hit at him with her free hand, but he ignored the blows. 

“No!” Arnold yelled, and lunged toward him, only to be knocked down by a sweep of the guys’ arm. He landed on the ground on his back. He scrambled up as Gerald also jumped toward Helga, but they both stopped when the big man pulled a knife from a sheath at his belt and held it up to her neck. “One more step and I’ll slit your girlfriends’ throat,” he growled at Arnold.

“Pedazo de mierda!” Helga spat out at him, causing the other men to laugh. The one holding her, though, growled and pressed the point of his knife into her skin enough to draw blood. 

“Nasty words for such a pretty girl.”

“Ahh, so our little guest knows Spanish,” drawled La Sombra, turning back and approaching Helga and the man holding her.

In spite of her discomfort and the fear she felt, Helga didn’t let it show in her eyes. “Hardly. I know bad words. Our bus driver kept saying them on the drive here,” she said angrily.

La Sombra looked at her for a few moments, then grabbed Phoebe’s arm. He spit out a string of Spanish to one of the other men, his eyes on Helga. The man he talked to looked surprised. Helga’s expression remained angry, but she didn’t react to what was said. La Sombra chuckled. “I guess you don’t estupidá.” He shoved Phoebe into the arms of one of the other men. Arnold and Gerald were also grabbed and dragged through the jungle after La Sombra and the man holding Helga with his knife still pointed at her throat.

* * *

The kids were shoved along toward the river, the man with the knife still had it pressed against Helga’s throat. Arnold seethed inside and felt completely helpless. He didn’t dare do anything that might make the guy do something to the blond girl. Gerald and Phoebe were also quiet as they were force-marched behind La Sombra. Helga, however, looked angrier and angrier as each minute passed. 

When the group reached the river, La Sombra turned and headed upstream. Arnold’s brain desperately searched for some way to escape, but the men with La Sombra kept a sharp eye on all of them, and besides, Arnold knew if he tried to run, they might hurt Helga.

They hadn’t walked for very long before Arnold saw a rundown boat tied up at what could loosely be called a pier. The dock was falling apart, the logs rotted and covered with algae. The boat itself wasn’t very large and looked rusted out. Arnold had seen boats similar to this back at the docks in Hillwood and knew they were fishing boats.

“Get on the boat,” La Sombra growled at the four kids, who all looked at each other. Helga, freed from the grip of the man who had dragged her along, was shoved onto the rickety dock first, nearly losing her balance, until Arnold jumped forward and grabbed her arm to steady her. She gave him a grateful look and, having gotten her balance back, stepped nimbly over the rotted wood to the boat with Arnold right behind her.

“Muevete!” one of the guards shouted at Phoebe, who cringed and shook her head, not understanding him. “Move!” he barked, gesturing sharply at her with his gun. Gerald took her arm and helped the shaking girl across the dock onto the pier, trembling with anger himself at the way the men were laughing.

La Sombra spoke to the guards harshly in Spanish for several minutes before gesturing two of them onto the boat. Four of the men stayed on land, while La Sombra came to the side of the boat and leaned his arms on the rail, smiling at the four kids, who all glared back at him.

“I hope you enjoy my hospitality,” he said, laughing. “My associates are taking you on a little trip upriver. I won’t promise you’ll be comfortable on your voyage or that you’ll enjoy your destination. But I want you somewhere safe while I take care of a few things. I’m going to need you soon,” he finished, pointing a dirty finger at Arnold.

Arnold stared back at the river pirate. La Sombra spoke further in Spanish to the two men on the boat for another few minutes. Both men came over to take their backpacks and frisk the kids, earning a hard kick from Helga. “Pinche niña!” he shouted at her as he struck her across the face hard enough that she fell onto the deck. Phoebe dropped down next to her to help her sit up, while La Sombra laughed again. 

“I wouldn’t boys,” he drawled, noting that Arnold and Gerald’s fists were clenched and they looked mad enough to attack. La Sombra lazily waved a small gun in his hand as he said it. The other guard grabbed Arnold and tied his hands behind his back, then did the same to Gerald, while the one who had struck Helga bent down to shove Phoebe out of the way so that he could bind Helga’s arms behind her. Once they had done the same to Phoebe, all the kids had gags tied into their mouths and were shoved up against the boat wall, out of the way, and made to sit down.

After a few more instructions in Spanish, La Sombra returned to the men on the shore and disappeared into the jungle with them. The two on the boat ignored the kids as they cast off the frayed ropes that had tied the small boat to the pier. As the boat wallowed its’ way into the middle of the river, the men went into the cockpit in order to start it and get it moving.

* * *

Arnold’s head was spinning and he felt a sort of panic settle over him. He had to find a way out of this. He couldn’t believe he had put his closest friends in danger. He couldn’t bear to look at the others at first. He felt guilty and scared at the same time. Phoebe and Gerald were next to him, tied up, and Helga? She had been cut and hit and hurt by these men. His heart felt cold just thinking about it.

When he was finally able to look at the others, he saw Gerald and Phoebe staring at him, eyes wide and full of fright, but when he looked at Helga, she looked back at him calmly, in spite of the thin stream of dried blood on her neck and her reddened cheek where she had been struck. _‘What the hell is wrong with her?’ _he thought wildly.

The kids couldn’t see much from where they sat, just into the cockpit, where the two guards lazily steered the boat along the river. The men only occasionally glanced at their prisoners. When they did, they would laugh and say a few things in Spanish to each other. An hour went by like this until one of the guards stood and came out, saying something to his partner before disappearing down the hatch to the bottom of the boat.

The remaining guard kept his eyes on the river ahead as he steered and Arnold saw Helga staring at him intently. After a while, she pitched forward off her butt onto her knees and peered over the side of the boat for a few minutes, going back and forth between looking there and back to the cockpit.

The other three stared at her as she then leaned back, twisting her body in a strange way as if she were trying to get out of the bonds her hands were tied with. She finally straightened up and sat back on her heels. Her arms, however, were moving quite a bit as she stared steadily at the guard in the cockpit.

Arnold was more surprised when her arms were freed and she brought them around, holding an open pocketknife in her hand. His eyes widened with excitement as she stretched her arms and shook them to get the feeling back. Phoebe made a sound behind her gag.

She kept the gag over her mouth, but held a finger up to it, indicating for the others to stay quiet. Gerald was next to her, so she leaned behind him and worked her knife on the rope tying his hands together. Arnold held his breath, watching the guard, afraid he would turn around and see what she was doing.

Helga gave the knife to Gerald once his hands were free, nodding at Phoebe, then she sat back against the boat wall, putting her hands behind her back to make it look as if she was still tied up. Gerald took the hint and freed Phoebe before giving the smaller girl the knife so that she could free Arnold even as he copied Helga in pretending he was still tied up.

Once they were all free of their bonds, they sat quietly, their backs against the wall and their hands behind their backs. Helga glanced around, her eyes narrowed. She then risked getting up on her knees again to look over the edge of the boat. When she sat back down, she pulled her gag down out of her mouth and whispered. “They left their guns outside the cockpit,” she said, pointing. “You two,” she added, pointing at Gerald and Arnold, “need to toss them over the side of the boat. Arnold you still know karate, right?”

Arnold blinked a few times at what she was suggesting, but he nodded. 

“Good. See those spars over there?” she said, nodding her head to the other side of the boat. “You and Gerald need to try and knock that guy out that’s steering.”

Arnold pulled down his gag. “What?” he whispered in a strained voice. 

“Knock him out. Hit him as hard as you can.”

“Helga, we’re just kids!”

“So? He won’t expect it. I’ve seen you both play baseball. You both can hit pretty hard.”

“How can we control the boat?”

Helga shrugged. “We’ll worry about that once we take care of these guys. I’d rather not be kept tied up or have guns pointed at my head. Phoebe and I will take care of the guy down below if he tries to come up. Come on, we have no time to lose.”

“Now!?” Arnold hissed.

Helga actually grinned at him. “Might as well, before we think about it too much.”

The plan worked surprisingly well. Arnold, Gerald and Helga pulled off their gags and crawled across the boat to the spars left there in a pile. The spars were different sized poles, a few with rusted gaffs on the end. The boys stood, each picking out a pole they could easily handle. 

“Arnold, if we each stand on one side of the door, one of the girls can make a noise or something to make him turn around. If he sees we’re not tied up over there, he might come out. I can trip him and you can knock him out.”

Arnold nodded silently, watching Helga pick out her own spar, one of the gaffs with the rusty spikes on the end. “Let’s do it.”

Arnold told Helga to get the guards attention, then he and Gerald went over to the guns that were sitting propped up against the wall of the cockpit, just beside the doorway. They handled them gingerly as they took them to the side of the boat and let them go with a ‘plop’ into the water. Once that was done, they went to stand on each side of the door, Gerald holding his pole low and Arnold holding his in something resembling a batting stance.

Helga had returned to Phoebe and helped the girl to stand up. “You won’t have to do anything Phoebe,” she reassured her friend in a quiet voice, though she did hand Phoebe over a lightweight pole.

Phoebe just gave her a look and shook her head. “I do know fencing, Helga,” she reminded her friend. “I will fight if I need to.”

Helga grinned at Phoebe, then she dropped her spar onto the deck, making a loud clatter. The guard at the wheel spun around and saw Helga free of her bonds, stooping to pick up the pole, looking at him as if she were scared. He swore in Spanish, then rushed out the door toward her. Gerald thrust his spar in front of his feet and the man tripped, falling forward onto the deck even as Arnold swung his spar down against the man’s head hard enough to knock him out.

Something in Spanish was called from below and they heard the guard run over to the steps to climb up. Once his head appeared above the deck, both Helga and Phoebe hit him as hard as they could and they could hear him fall back down to the deck below.

The four stared at each other for a moment, surprised their plan worked. “Gerald!” Helga called over to him. “You steered that bus last year. The boat can’t be that much different. Just try not to hit the shore.” Gerald spun and ran into the cockpit. “Arnold, help us tie these guys up.”

Arnold, Helga, and Phoebe shoved the guy on the top deck over to the side, leaving him lying face down. They tied his hands behind his back and also gagged him. Then Arnold and Helga climbed down to the lower deck to find the other guard, two swelling bumps on his head, sprawled awkwardly on the floor. 

“That was a nice hit,” he complimented her.

Helga laughed. “You too. Good thing we’re both so good at baseball. Though I never thought I’d actually have to hit someone like that. I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would.”

“It was pretty unpleasant,” he agreed, kneeling down to roll the guard over in order to tie his hands behind his back. He looked up, noticing that Helga was looking down at him strangely. She opened her mouth to say something, then apparently decided not to as she closed her mouth.

“What?” he asked.

“Later,” she said shortly.

He tied the last of the knots securely, then stood. “Tell me now,” he insisted.

“Later,” she said again stubbornly, as she turned back to the ladder leading out. He sighed and followed her up the ladder and back to the small cockpit where Gerald and Phoebe were.

“Where’d the river go?” Arnold asked, looking around. The trees that had been on either side of the boat had disappeared and it looked like they were entering a large lake.

“This isn’t on the map,” Phoebe said, looking down at her copy. 

“Where’d you get that?” Gerald asked, looking at her, his hands on the wheel. “I thought La Sombra took all our maps from our backpacks.”

Phoebe glanced at Helga, then said a little self-consciously. “I-I had it hidden. Helga gave me an extra copy. She has one too. We kept them hidden.”

“Why do you think I kicked that guy so hard?” Helga asked. “I didn’t want him to find it.”

Arnold and Gerald stared at the two girls. Helga ignored them and instead looked at Phoebe’s map. “We must be in the unmapped area,” she said, pointing at the side. “There’s no huge lake on this copy.”

“Uncharted territory,” Phoebe mused. “I wonder why La Sombra was bringing us here.”

Gerald, who had been staring ahead, his hands still on the wheel, said, “Maybe to that.”

They all looked forward and saw an island, shrouded by mist, up ahead. 


	21. We Can Cover More Ground If We Split Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The friends make it to the island and Helga continues to surprise Arnold.

**Chapter 21 - We Can Cover More Ground if We Split Up**

“We should get off this boat before we get there,” Helga said. “We don’t know if anyone is waiting for it.”

“Where will we go?” Arnold asked. 

Helga didn’t answer him. She instead started looking through some of the cabinets in the little room. “Aha!” she exclaimed, pulling out a pair of binoculars. She immediately went to the front window and looked through them ahead towards the island. “I can see a dock or something like that on the left side, but only barely. Steer toward the right Gerald.” She thought a moment. “Do you know how to slow it down?”

Gerald looked down at the controls. “I think so,” he answered. He put his hand on the throttle and pulled it towards himself and the boat noticeably slowed down.

“Good. Let’s see how slow we can get it and we can run it aground. If it’s not damaged, we may need it to get off this island once we find our class. I don’t want to be on this boat when those guys wake up,” Helga said. “I know they’re tied up, but La Sombra told them to kill me, Gerald, or Phoebe if we tried anything.”

Arnold looked at her, confused. “He told them that? When?”

“When he was giving them instructions.”

“But he was talking to them in Spanish.”

“I know. I understood him.”

“You said you didn’t know Spanish!” Arnold said in a stressed voice.

“Well I wasn’t going to let them in on it. That’s how I knew our class was ambushed, but not hurt. I admit I goofed when I swore at him in Spanish, but I think I covered myself well. It was hard. He threatened to cut Phoebe’s fingers off.”

Arnold and Gerald gaped at her and Phoebe suppressed a whimper. Helga put her arm around her friend and held Phoebe against her side to comfort her.

“I think he brought our class here. He said he took them by boat to his hideout. I’m guessing it’s here, if this is where he was taking us. Once we get on the island, we can look for it. The island doesn’t look that big.”

“We’ll have to see if we can rescue them,” Arnold said.

“Let’s get on the island first. See what you can find on this boat that you think we would need,” Helga suggested. 

Helga, Phoebe and Arnold searched around the boat, but didn’t find much worth taking. A few flashlights, the binoculars, and the remains of the ropes that had tied them up.

Gerald called to them, “We’re getting close!”

Helga went into the cockpit. “Hold tight to something,” she ordered Phoebe and Arnold. “We’re going slow, but it will still knock us around when we hit ground. You ok, Phoebe?” she asked.

“Oh yes Helga,” Phoebe answered, still gripping the spar Helga had given her. 

“Are you taking that?”

“Might as well.”

Helga grinned at her. “Good idea. Where’d I leave mine?”

She went out and picked up the spar from the deck, glancing over at the guard to see if he was still out. He was, but she also noticed that he had been the one to hold a knife to her throat, and that the knife was plainly in its’ sheath at his belt. Helga went over to him, kicked him once in the side, then bent over and took the sheathed knife from him. Grabbing a piece of rope that had tied them up, she fashioned a sort of belt to carry it at her side. When she was done, she glanced up to see Arnold looking at her with a raised eyebrow. 

“What?”

He actually laughed. “Nothing Helga.”

* * *

Gerald was able to get the boat fairly close to the shore. It was still a good 10 yards away when the boat scraped the bottom of the lake and jerked to a halt, causing all of them to nearly fall, grasping the handholds they had found. 

The boats’ engine died and the sudden silence startled all of them. “Let’s get going. I’d be surprised if someone didn’t notice this boat veering off course and will eventually come to investigate,” Helga said.

The girl hoisted herself up onto the rail, swung her legs over and pushed off, dropping with a splash into the water, which only reached her knees. The others followed her and they all waded to rocky shore, climbing over the slimy rocks at the waters’ edge onto the pebbly beach. Once above the high tide mark, they all sank onto the ground in a small group, catching their breath.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Helga said as she wrapped her arms around her upraised knees.

“No, but still not pleasant,” Arnold responded, shaking his foot and frowning at his now wet shoes.

“These should dry off fairly quickly,” Phoebe said. “The sun is right above us.”

“What now?” Gerald asked as they got to their feet.

They all looked at Arnold, who was at a loss for ideas. “I’m not sure. La Sombra recognized me, I think. I don’t know how, but he seemed to know me.”

To his surprise, Helga spoke. “He recognized you from the news. I imagine that he somehow saw a story about us coming to San Lorenzo.” She hesitated a moment, looking back at him as he stared at her. “Arnold,” she said, as gently as she could, “he mentioned your parents.”

Arnold’s mind went blank at her words, though he heard Phoebe’s gasp and Gerald’s incredulous “What?”

Helga’s eyes steadily held Arnold’s. He stared back at her, his eyes wider than she’d ever seen and she knew her words shocked him. She waited to tell him until they were off the boat, because she wanted him to get to relative safety before laying this on him.

“When were you planning on telling us this, Pataki?” Gerald demanded angrily.

“Gerald!” Phoebe exclaimed.

Helga didn’t take her eyes from Arnold’s. “I’m telling him now, Gerald. Believe me, I had no pleasure in not mentioning it before. Do you think I didn’t want to tell him? We had to get off that boat first,” she snapped at him.

“It’s ok, Gerald,” Arnold said faintly. The blue eyes staring back at him comforted him in a way he couldn’t explain. This girl who had come to mean so much to him looked at him with an expression of empathy that warmed him even though he half-dreaded what she would say. “What did La Sombra say?”

“He said he needs you to make them do something,” she answered, again as gently as she could. She knew the knowledge his parents actually were alive would overwhelm him.

“They’re alive?” he whispered, barely daring to believe it.

“It sounds like it,” she said softly. 

Phoebe and Gerald both looked at him now. Arnold finally pulled his gaze from Helga to look at his other two friends. “They’re alive,” he stated a little louder. Then he laughed a little shakily. “They’re alive!” He turned back to Helga, who had given him this gift of the wonderful news and before she knew it, he had his arms around her, a hug which she returned without pushing him away.

Phoebe gave a small cry as she and Gerald crowded over to join in the hug. The four stood together in an embrace as Arnold processed the fact that his hope his parents were alive was true. He tried not to cry, but he couldn’t help it, and the eyes of his closest friends did not remain dry.

* * *

Helga, of course, was the one to pull herself together first. She shoved them all out of the hug, wiping at her cheeks. “We need to get moving if we’re going to find Arnold’s parents and our class.”

Arnold was a little startled by her matter-of-fact tone, but he agreed with her. There would be time later to indulge in his emotions. Getting weepy over the fact his parents were alive, and here this thought shot a jolt of joy through him, wasn’t getting him closer to finding them.

“Helga’s right. We need some sort of plan,” he said, clearing a throat that was choked with his feelings. “We don’t have any kind of map for this place.” He looked around – on one side of them was the lake water and the other side a screen of jungle growth and large trees. “Helga, you said there was a dock on the other side?”

“That’s what it looked like,” she said, nodding.

“I would think La Sombra’s hideout would be near there,” he said thoughtfully. 

“La Sombra said something about caves,” Helga said. “I don’t know if that meant his hideout is in one. He told those guys to take us to the caves.”

“Great!” Gerald said, frowning. “This is Wheezing Ed all over again.”

“Wheezing Ed didn’t have guns.” Arnold pointed out. “We need to be careful about this.”

“We can cover more ground if we split up,” Phoebe suggested. 

“I agree,” Gerald said. “Phoebe and I can go that way around the island,” he added, pointing. “You two can go that way. At some point we should meet up as long as we don’t go toward the center of the island.”

“It is not a big island,” Phoebe said. “It should not take us long to get around it.”

“I hope not,” Arnold said, looking up. “The sun is getting lower and it’ll be dark soon.”

“We can’t wait too long,” Helga said. “Who knows when La Sombra will figure out the boat never made it?”

“Let’s just go,” Arnold decided, grinning at Helga. “Like you said on the boat, if we think about it too much…”

She actually laughed, as did Phoebe and Gerald. The girls hugged each other and Gerald and Arnold did their handshake. 

“See you soon, buddy,” Gerald said.

“Keep Phoebe safe,” Helga warned Gerald.

“Don’t worry about her, Pataki,” Gerald assured her. “She’ll be the one keeping me safe.”


	22. You Don't Think We're Friends?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold and Helga search the island.

**Chapter 22 - You Don't Think We're Friends?**

Arnold and Helga stumbled along the shoreline, keeping an eye out on all sides of them for anything they could see that they would need to either hide from or investigate. The island was fairly quiet, except for the sounds of birds. They saw nothing on the water of the lake on their left and the wall of trees on their right. The shore was composed mostly of pebbles, making their footing precarious and most of their concentration was on staying on their feet.

They stopped to drink some of the little water they had left. Helga screwed the cap on her water bottle and put it back into her backpack, which she had dropped next to her feet when they stopped to rest. 

When she straightened, she noticed Arnold had moved closer to her. It unnerved her a little as she positioned her backpack over her shoulder. He stepped right in front of her, looking at her with concern. “What?” she asked.

Arnold reached up and gently ran his finger over her cheek. “How is your cheek?”

“My cheek?” she asked blankly. She froze at his touch and found it difficult to breathe.

His other fingers joined his index finger in the caressing motion and lingered there as he remembered caressing this same cheek last night. “That guy hit you pretty hard.” She could see he was worried and that, along with the heat his fingers left on her cheek, turned her insides to mush. “It’s still a little red.”

“Oh, um, it’s ok. I’m ok…” she stammered, finally tearing her eyes from his and looking away. Moving her head exposed the cut on her neck and she felt his fingers gently touch her there. She flinched. 

“Sorry!” he said, pulling his hand away. “Does it hurt?”

“It stings, but it should be ok,” she lied, then cleared her throat, really unnerved now. His touch didn’t hurt so much as it caused a shock through her whole body. “Uh, I don’t think he cut me that bad.”

He didn’t say anything for a few moments, just stood looking at her, which made her almost shake with nervousness. “Why didn’t you tell me about my parents sooner?” Arnold asked quietly.

The question surprised her, but she knew she should have expected it. Still looking away from him, she responded, “I didn’t have a chance. We were gagged.”

“Not the whole time,” he pointed out.

She sighed, “I figured if I told you on the boat you’d be,” she paused as if looking for the right word, “too emotional. Too excited or overwhelmed. I needed you to be somewhere safe before I told you.”

Arnold thought that over, still gazing at her as she looked off at something in the jungle as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. He thought the news about his parents was what she almost told him on the boat when they were alone below decks. Her strength of mind, and her determination to protect him, amazed him. Helga was right; the news did overwhelm him and he could see what she meant. She needed him to focus on getting off the boat first. 

“Thank you. I’m sorry all this happened,” Arnold said, his voice sounded distressed.

She looked back at him, her embarrassment disappearing with her concern for him. “You didn’t do this Arnold.”

“It’s all my fault.”

“No!” she cried, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him a little. “No, it’s not Arnold. You can’t be blamed for what those jerks are doing to us!”

He shook his head, looking down. “None of you should be here. I have no idea if our class is safe. I almost got you, Gerald, and Phoebe killed. We’re still in danger.”

“Hey!” she yelled at him, startling him enough so that he looked back into her eyes. They were flashing her annoyance. “Stop it! This is not your fault! We wanted to be here. We wanted to help you. We knew the risk, we’ve already told you this!” The expression in her eyes shifted from anger to genuine concern and something else that in spite of everything going on gave him a slight feeling of hope. “Stop blaming yourself,” she said this last thing in a gentle tone he couldn’t believe came from her. 

“I could never forgive myself if something…” he said in a small voice, leaving the sentence hanging.

“Nothing will happen,” she said in that same gentle voice. “We’ll meet back up with Gerald and Phoebe and find your parents and our class. We just need to keep going and stick together.” She thought for a moment, then hesitated before saying, “Don’t we always end up making a good team?”

That did make him smile slightly, his eyes still locked with hers. “We do,” he agreed. “I’m so glad it’s you who is here with me.”

That statement and the expression in his eyes threw her and she dealt with it the only way she could at the moment – sarcasm - as she let go of his shoulder with a little shove. “Of course you are. Who else could get you out of this mess?” She turned to hide her blushing face and walked away. With a small smile, he followed along quietly.

* * *

Helga, who had been extremely calm and collected while they were being held captive, was becoming a little panicky. She thought they should have run into Phoebe and Gerald by now and it was getting dark. They hadn’t even made it to the pier she had seen. She hoped they wouldn’t have to spend the night out in the open. It wouldn’t be the best idea to be out in the dark without being able to build a fire. A fire could lead La Sombra right to them.

Arnold’s voice interrupted her thoughts. “I think we’re going to have to figure out what to do, Helga. We can’t wander around in the dark.”

She hugged herself and nodded as both of them stopped. “We can’t build a fire Football Head,” she pointed out. “La Sombra or his men might see it if they’re looking for us.”

“We should be warm enough, I hope. We should be ok without one.”

“True, but we won’t have any way to see anything coming at us and a fire would keep any animals away.”

“We did grab some flashlights from the boat. We have those if we hear anything,” he suggested.

She shrugged. “I guess.”

“There’s a rock face over there. If we sit with our backs against it…” he said hopefully.

They went over to the cliff that ran along the shore at this point of the island and looked it over. It seemed like their best option. If they heard anything they could at least shine their lights and see what it was. Neither of them were thrilled with the idea of not being able to see anything though, but they had no choice.

They sat next to each other in the fading light and dug through their backpacks for one of their traveling cakes the villagers had given them. “I’m getting low, are you?” Helga asked Arnold.

“I’ve only got a couple,” he said. “We’ll have to be sparing with them.”

She sighed and broke one of her cakes in half. “I could go for a huge burger and fries right about now.”

He laughed, also breaking one of the cakes in half and putting half back in his backpack. “And a big chocolate sundae.”

“Oooh,” She groaned. “You had to say that!”

He just chuckled and took a bite from his cake. “I wonder what this stuff is. It’s not great tasting, but it’s not awful.”

She looked at it closely. “Looks like there is some kind of meat in it, and berries. Held together by some kind of fat. We probably don’t want to know what’s in it.”

“True,” he agreed.

They ate silently, both trying to keep calm as their vision darkened. The sky was cloudy and allowed very little star or moonlight to filter through. She shivered involuntarily and scooched closer to Arnold until their shoulders touched. She felt a mixture of fright about being in the pitch dark as well as nervousness from being alone with Arnold for the entire night. He acted flirty with her before La Sombra captured them and she didn’t know what to think of that - if he was serious, or just playing games. Or what to think of some of the things he said this whole trip.

It surprised Arnold when he felt her edge up against him. As brave and clever as she had been all day, it made him feel good that it seemed like she was drawing some comfort from him and he felt protective of her. He wanted to put his arm around her to comfort her and talk to her about what had been going on between them and how he felt, maybe finally get the chance to kiss her like he’d been wanting to, but he decided to not jump into it, so instead he asked, “How do you know Spanish?”

“Um, from Olga actually. When I was little, she taught me. She wanted someone to practice with when she was at home. We spent many summers talking only in Spanish,” Helga answered and he could feel her shrug her shoulders. “It used to annoy me, but now I’m glad she did.”

“Me too! You said you swore at that guy who grabbed you. What did you say?” he asked curiously.

She laughed. “I called him a piece of…shit” she said, whispering the bad word.

He laughed too. “Appropriate.” He thought for a moment, then said, “I can’t picture Olga teaching you that.”

That made her laugh harder. “No, no she didn’t. I picked some things up on my own.”

They were quiet for a while, trying not to be startled with every sound they heard in the dark.

“Are you-are you ok?” Helga asked, her voice soft. 

“Ok?”

“You know, about your parents.”

“I still have trouble believing it,” he said after a moment. “I mean, I always believed they were alive, but there’s always been a small part of me that doubted it.” Arnold was quiet for a moment, but spoke again before she could. “I sometimes doubted the stories in the journal, though I didn’t think my dad would lie, necessarily. It’s just so, I don’t know, hard to believe everything in there, you know? But how could I know if they were true or not? I don’t know them. The stories from my grandparents and this journal – that’s all I know about them.”

Helga listened, not daring to say anything. 

After another pause, he said, “They don’t know me either. What if-what if I’m a disappointment?”

Helga couldn’t believe he had said that. “You? A disappointment?”

She felt him shrug. “Yeah. I mean, they did leave me. They’re alive and they’ve never come back. Maybe they don’t want me. Maybe they don’t want to come back…” his voice trailed off.

“Arnold,” she began, and he was comforted by the soft tone of her voice in the darkness, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk like that.”

“Like what?”

“Negatively. You’re always so positive. You always see the bright side.”

“There’s not always a bright side though. I know I try to be positive, but I have to be realistic too. There’s a reason they left and a reason they didn’t come back. Maybe it’s me.”

“Stop it. I know it’s not that. Your father said it in the journal, they had to make the choice they did. Don’t judge them about what happened after they got here until you know.”

He interrupted, “But eight years Helga.”

“Let me finish,” and he had to smile slightly at the hint of irritation in her soft tone. “You’ll have a chance to ask them, I know you will. Don’t be upset with them until you find out the reason why. If it’s a crappy reason, then by all means be mad. Get upset. Give them a piece of your mind.” After a moment, she added, “After I’m done giving them my piece.”

She heard his soft chuckle, then continued. “They won’t be disappointed in you, Arnold. There’s nothing to disappoint them. I know they’ll be proud of you.”

“You really think so?”

“Well, yeah,” she said, thinking carefully about what she wanted to say. She wanted to make him feel better. This Arnold was not something she was used to or expecting. He was always annoyingly positive about everything and she needed him to stay that way. “I mean, you’re perfect,” she said in a teasing, light tone. “Who wouldn’t love you?” She bit her lip thinking she’d said too much. _‘Dammit, he just turns my mind inside out,’ _she thought angrily.

It did make him laugh, though. “I’m far from perfect.”

“Oh no,” she answered in that teasingly light tone. “Perfect, right down to that ridiculously tiny hat.”

His laugh trailed off. “My dad gave me this hat,” he said quietly. “It’s one of the few things I have left to remember him.”

Helga figured the hat had some sort of sentimental value to him, but she didn’t know how significant it was. 

Before she could respond, he said, “I know it probably sounds stupid, but that’s why I always wear it. You know, to feel like my parents are close.”

“It doesn’t sound stupid to me.”

“No?” he asked.

“Don’t sound surprised, Arnoldo. I can be sentimental too.”

“I didn’t mean…”

He felt her shrug. “Actually, I understand better than you would expect.”

“You do? How?”

She didn’t answer for a few minutes, trying to figure how to steer this conversation away from her admitting anything to him. “I just do. There’s something I carry around that’s sentimental to me. Well, two things.”

“Really? What?”

She bit back a retort, not wanting to spoil this moment, but not wanting to reveal too much. “Just things. It’s not important.”

“It’s important if it’s something special to you. What makes them special to you?”

“They just,” she stammered. “They just are.” She paused another few moments, then said in almost a whisper. “They remind me of someone special too.”

Arnold sensed who she meant because of her reluctance to tell him. He desperately wanted to know – what the things were and why they meant so much to her, but he was afraid of pushing her too far and making her upset. This was a good talk; it felt good to open up to her, to tell her some of the anxieties he felt about his parents. It was stuff he had never told anyone else – his grandparents or Gerald - but it felt right to tell her. Something told him she would understand and would be able to help him feel better about it. He just wished she would feel she could open up to him, but he knew it would take time and he hoped once this was all over, they could find the time together.

“I hope Phoebe and Gerald are ok,” she commented in a small voice. Helga worried about their friends and wanted to steer the subject away from herself.

Arnold was worried about them too, but he didn’t want to scare Helga any more than she was. “I’m sure they are. Gerald wouldn’t let anything happen to Phoebe. He cares about her a lot.”

“I know, but still. I’m supposed to protect her. I promised her that a long time ago. I don’t know what I would do without her. She’s my best friend,” she said, then added softly, “She’s my only friend.”

It took him a second to realize what she said, then he nudged her with his shoulder. “That’s not true.”

“It seems like it.”

“You don’t think we’re friends?” he asked.

It took her a few moments to answer and he could hear the forced amusement in her voice. “I thought we hated each other.”

Arnold couldn’t believe she still put up this front after everything. She heard him sigh before he said in his soft voice, “You and I both know that’s not true.”

She, however, stayed silent, though her heart was pounding fast.

“I’m sure they’re fine Helga.”

He heard her sigh, but she didn’t respond.

“You know,” he said, glad for the darkness and knowing she couldn’t see him, he felt bolder than usual and had a lot on his mind to talk to her about, “you were pretty amazing the last two days.”

“Huh?”

“You saved our lives.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said and he could hear the embarrassment in her voice. He smiled, picturing her blushing and looking self-conscious.

“You did,” he insisted. “I don’t know how you kept so calm. I was in a panic. You got us to run and thought to hide in the trees. You stood up to his men too when they found us. You hid that you could understand La Sombra. I don’t even know how you knew to have the map and the knife hidden. How did you know you needed those?”

He could feel her shrug again as their shoulders were touching, and he felt an unexplained shiver go up his spine. “I just tried to think ahead. I didn’t expect to be captured and tied up,” she said, giving a half-hearted laugh, “but as the Boy Scouts say, ‘Be Prepared’.”

“But Helga, you got us to knock out two big guys. **You** knocked someone out! We would still be prisoners if it weren’t for you. You were just…” he couldn’t think of any word other than the one he ended up using, “amazing.”

She was silent for a moment, thinking. Her mind raced, unsure of why he said all this – and why the earlier confessions about his anxieties to her. Helga was worried too, knowing how tired she was feeling, she would say something she shouldn’t. Mostly she was tired of trying to hide herself from him. It was so much easier before the confession, but his attention wasn’t so fixed on her then as it was now. She knew Phoebe was right in one respect - he was paying her a lot of attention and she didn’t know if it meant he liked her or if he was just…she didn’t know what. Her mind was mixed up. She couldn’t think of anything to say in response, then decided to just go for it and say something she had said before. “Well, I’m a pretty amazing person. I think I’ve told you that before.”

Arnold was startled at the subtle reminder of what happened on the roof at FTi, of what was said. Helga had never mentioned that morning to him since it happened. He did say then what she did was amazing and she had responded the same way. He thought it was a good sign. “You did Helga, I remember,” he said in a soft, low tone that both thrilled her and terrified her. Then she could tell he leaned his head closer to hers, as she heard whispered closely in her ear. “I remember everything you said.” After a quiet moment, he drew a deep breath “Helga…” he started, but was interrupted by a loud yawn from her. The yawn was involuntary and she cursed herself for interrupting what he was going to say.

“Oo, sorry…” she said, then waited a moment. “Did you want to say something?” she asked, her voice trembling.

He thought about it and decided against it. What he wanted to say to her he wanted to say where he could see her and she could see him. If she really did love him, he wanted to be able to look in her eyes and see her reaction when he told her how he felt, and he didn’t want to try and kiss her in the dark like this. He had been kissed by her three times, but he had never tried to kiss anyone and he was nervous enough about it without the added difficulty of not being able to see what he was doing. “I do, but not now. I’ll tell you tomorrow. I promise. Get some sleep, Helga. I’ll keep watch.”

“Alright, but wake me after a while, ok? You shouldn’t have to stay up all night.” Helga was a little disappointed and wondered what he wanted to say. She pulled the knife she had taken out of its’ sheath and reached over with her other hand to find his. Arnold blushed as he felt her hand move down his arm to his own hand and grab it, his heart beating faster with hope. He tried to close his fingers around hers, but once she found his hand, he felt her other hand slip the knife into it before both of her hands disappeared. “Just in case,” she said in a tired voice, yawning again.

“Thanks,” he murmured, disappointed, shifting the knife to his other hand.

She leaned her head back against the rock face and closed her eyes. She was really tired and it didn’t take long for her to drop off to sleep, and it wasn’t long until he heard her deep and even breathing and then felt her head droop onto his shoulder. He smiled and, knowing she was asleep, he reached for her hand and finally got to wrap his fingers around hers even as he tilted his head to rest on top of hers. He could feel the callouses on her palm and her rough and jagged fingernails, but when he rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand he liked how soft her skin was. Her fingers involuntarily closed around his.

They stayed like that for quite some time, until she shifted in her sleep, turning towards him a little. He let go of her hand and somehow got his arm around her. She snuggled into him then, her head coming to rest on his chest and her arm going over his stomach to hug him. She never woke up and he knew she didn’t do it consciously, but it felt so right to him. His left arm was around her, hand hooked around her waist; he dropped the knife to the ground next to the flashlight so that his right arm could come up to hold her arm in place. He rested his cheek on her hair, which smelled like flowers, and drifted off to sleep himself - a happy smile on his face, completely forgetting to wake her and just wanting to hold her all night like this.


	23. What Are You So Scared Of?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions come to a head as Helga and Arnold fight...and truths are told.

**Chapter 23 - What Are You So Scared Of?**

A noise woke him and Arnold opened his eyes, surprised that he could sort of see. It was morning and the sun was starting to rise and filter through the jungle. The light was dim, but it was there. He felt something soft beneath his cheek and realized it was Helga’s hair and bow. They were in the same position they had been when he fell asleep. The noise happened again, and he thought it was just a bird up in the trees.

The arm around Helga was asleep and he was sore all over from not moving all night, but Arnold hesitated to move and wake her. It felt good having her in his arms and he didn’t want to let her go. The faint flowery smell of her hair made him smile dreamily and he couldn’t resist kissing the top of her head before returning his cheek to rest against her. To his surprise she murmured his name in her sleep, even as she stirred a little. He held his breath. He had no idea how she would react to find herself like this. 

Helga returned to consciousness slowly, feeling safe and smiling. Then she realized she felt fabric under her cheek and what felt like an arm around her. Her eye popped open to see the blue of Arnold’s t-shirt underneath her. She blinked a few times, now wide awake and she realized she was hugging him around the middle, sleeping with her head on his chest. She felt his arm heavy around her, his other arm over hers, and his cheek resting on her head. She could hear his fast heartbeat and melted inside, wondering how long she could pretend to be asleep.

But he must have felt her wake up because she heard him say in a low voice, “Good morning.”

_‘He’s awake and holding me like this?’_ she thought. She struggled to sit up, rubbing at her eyes as his arm retreated from around her. “Good morning,” she responded, looking down with a blush. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

“I didn’t mind,” he said, watching her and wishing she would look at him. Helga wasn’t angry at having slept in his arms; she was shy about it and he was feeling bold. If she looked at him, he swore he would kiss her.

“I thought you were going to wake me?”

“I fell asleep too, and you were so tired.”

Helga frowned, but nodded. “Thanks.” She determinedly kept her eyes down.

“My pleasure,” he said, flexing his arm and trying to get feeling back into it. Arnold sighed. He realized she was not going to look at him yet, so he looked at his watch. “It’s early still. We should get going though. I want to see if we can find Phoebe and Gerald. We should be close."

“What time is it?”

“Just after six.”

She took the other half of the cake out of her backpack and took a couple of bites as a sort of breakfast. He did the same, then tucked the rest back. They got up, shouldered their packs, and headed to the top of the bluff, both of them pointedly not mentioning how they spent the night.

* * *

After an hour, the panic set back in for Helga. They were walking along a slight rise next to the beach, in order to see further out over the water and so they didn’t have to stumble over the pebbly surface at the waters’ edge. 

“I can’t believe we haven’t found them yet,” Helga growled. “How big is this stupid island?”

Arnold stopped and closed his eyes for a brief moment, having tired of this. He knew she was nervous, but she had asked this already five times and he had answered patiently five times. He had no idea. He was as concerned as her for their friends.

Helga also stopped and turned and they faced off. She had been so good up to this point and he figured she was finally getting frightened of their predicament.

“I told you I don’t know!” he cried. “How could I know! I just have to trust that we’ll meet up with them. We haven’t even found the pier yet. We should soon!”

“Always with the optimism!” she shouted.

“Someone has to be!”

She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. “Just great!”

He started to get a little angry in spite of his trying to be patient. “Look, I don’t know what else to tell you!” He spun around in frustration, forgetting they were standing on the edge of a small cliff. 

“Arnold!” Helga screamed as he disappeared over the edge with a loud yell and crash.

She peered anxiously over the edge. Thankfully it wasn’t a long drop, but Arnold landed with a hard thud. Helga scrambled down to him and reached him as he sat up. His hand went to his forehead and he groaned. She dropped to her knees next to him, all traces of anger gone from her face, leaving only a panicked and worried look.

“Are-are you ok?”

“I think so,” he said, shaking his head. “I think I just had the air knocked out of me.”

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to start an argument!” she cried, distressed.

He shook his head again. “It’s ok, I understand,” he said, rubbing his forehead.

He heard her gasp. “You’re bleeding!”

“Where!?”

“Your arm!” She grabbed his wrist and pulled his arm closer to look at it. In a more relieved tone, she added “I think it’s only a scratch, but still.” She hesitated a moment, apparently thinking, then let go of his wrist to reach up and untie the pink bow she still wore in her hair. She first wiped the blood away with the tail of her t-shirt that she wet with water from the small amount she had left in her water bottle. She then tied the hair bow around his arm over the scratch, talking fast and nervously the whole time. “It should be ok. I want to get into the first aid kit, but Simmons has that, I think. I knew I should have looked for one on the boat.” Her distressed tone told him more than anything how concerned she was about him. “I don’t want this to get infected. That’s why I’m not using the lake water. It might have bacteria…” She trailed off as she finished tying the ribbon. “That should hold you until we can find the others,” she added, sitting back on her heels.

He watched her, silently and in awe. She was so gentle, but tied the knot expertly and neatly. “Th-thanks Helga,” he said. Her hair, which was freed when she removed her bow, had fallen to cover half her face as she finished tying off her ribbon and glanced up at him, her hands lingering on his arm. She was so close to him and he wanted to brush her hair back with his hand and lean forward to kiss her. He started to lift his free hand to do this and lean slightly toward her as they looked into each other’s eyes. _’Wow her eyes are so beautiful,’_ he thought. His heart beat fast and he was nervous. “Helga,” he whispered, “I promised to tell you something today.” Her eyes shone with worry and what looked like hope to him. Arnold rarely saw her with her hair all the way down. He liked it; she looked rather pretty like this, but as he continued to stare at her, he realized something even as his fingers brushed the edges of her hair, hair that was messy and curling slightly in the humidity and he started to go cold all over. His hand dropped. “Cecile?”

Her eyes widened in fright for a brief second as she froze. Then she seemed to recover herself, but he had seen her reaction. She frowned, brushed her hair away from her face, and shoved it behind her ear as she pulled back. “What are you talking about?” she asked harshly, looking away. “My name is Helga, if you didn’t know. Did you bump your head on the way down?” 

She shifted to get up on her feet, but he grabbed her by the arm and stopped her. “Hey!” she exclaimed.

“You were Cecile, weren’t you?” he demanded.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, not meeting his eyes.

“You were!” he insisted. “Valentine’s Day last year.” His irritation was directed more at himself for never noticing her resemblance to his dream girl. Now that he saw it, he couldn’t believe how stupid he had been to not realize it.

She stared at his hand, which still held her arm. She had no idea what she should say. She never expected this to come up and she wasn’t prepared. “I…I…” she stammered.

“Why…” but he trailed off. Of course, he knew why. “Even then?”

“What do you mean, even then?” she asked, irritated. “And let me go!” She tried to pull free, but he kept his grip firm.

“No! We’re going to talk about this!”

“I don’t want to talk to you!”

“You are going to talk to me! Stop avoiding me! I’m not going to let you run away and hide from me again! You need to stop running and face what’s going on!”

Helga was a little startled at his firmness and insistence. Arnold was usually very mild-mannered. She also realized he knew exactly what she had been doing the past year - the hiding. “What do you mean ‘what’s going on’?”

“I mean between us! Why have you been avoiding me all year? Why can’t you just talk to me?”

He gave her a moment to reply and, when she didn’t, he went on. Experience told him if he kept pushing her, he could get her to talk. He held tightly to her arm because she kept trying to pull away. “You’ve teased and bullied me all my life, when all I’ve ever tried to do is to be nice to you.” She winced at that. “But this last year you wouldn’t even talk to me, and all after that stuff you said at FTi…”

“Stop!” she suddenly shouted, yanking her arm from his grip and scrambling back a couple of feet on her knees. “Don’t talk about that!”

“We will talk about it. We’ve needed to talk about it for a long time!” he said as he stood up and looked down at her with his hands on his hips.

“Don’t do this!” she begged. He was surprised that she looked genuinely frightened.

“What are you so scared of?”

Helga scoffed, jumped to her feet, and faced him as her temper flared up in spite of her fears, her hands clenched by her sides. Arnold didn’t look intimidated at all, or angry, and it threw her off a little. “Me? Helga Pataki scared?”

“It’s ok to be scared, Helga. I’m scared right now. We’re on some island in the middle of nowhere being chased by a guy who wants to kill us and we have no idea where our friends are!”

“I’m not scared of anything!”

He thought quickly. He had to get Helga to talk about FTi. “You are, Helga. I can see it in your eyes when you look at me. I’ve seen fear from you all year,” he said quietly to her, noticing the widening of her eyes. “Like right now. Why are you scared of me? What have I ever done to frighten you? Just be honest with me. What about me is scaring you?”

Arnold could tell Helga never expected him to come at her like this. Her fear was heightened now and she froze as she stared at him, but then her expression changed as her face flushed. “I’m not scared,” she growled, then her voice rose until it sounded like she was almost sobbing. “People laugh at you when you’re scared. They laugh at you for everything. Honest? You want me to be honest with you? Honesty just gets you hurt! I’ve been honest with you before and got nothing for it but a broken heart!” She gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth, as she looked shocked at what she said. “Oh just shut up! You would never understand!” She spun around so she didn’t have to face him and hugged herself tight, willing herself not to cry.

_‘Helga you’re so stupid!’_ she screamed at herself in her mind. _‘How could you say that to him?’_ She was so embarrassed and she could feel hot tears in her eyes. _‘Dammit how does he do this to me?’ _She thought about running, but she didn’t know where to run and she couldn’t run off alone. Where would she run to on this island? And besides, she couldn’t leave him. She wondered how this fight could have happened. She could have sworn he almost kissed her after she had bandaged his arm. It looked like he wanted to but that was just her stupid imagination. It had to be. ‘_Why would he want to do anything like that with me?’_ She felt so humiliated and his silence didn’t help the chaos in her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the tears. _‘I will not cry in front of him!’_

Arnold stared at her, startled at her outburst. This was not how he wanted to talk about what happened at FTi and what was happening between them this year and on this trip. He couldn’t believe how easily she became angry with him, when all he wanted was the truth from her and for her to hear the truth from him. Yet, didn’t she just tell him the truth? Broken heart? She had to mean from what she thought of as his rejection of her and his own heart ached knowing how much he had hurt her.

Her messy and tangled blond hair tumbled over her back, now finally free of the permanent pink hair bow. Helga was shaking, but he was so confused and didn’t know what to say. Arnold looked down in frustration and noticed the pink hair ribbon wrapped around his arm and tied with a perfect knot. Something about the ribbon and her bow tugged at his memory. “I like your bow,” he whispered reaching up his other hand to run his fingers over the soft material, “because it’s pink like your pants.” And then he realized, with a shock, why she always wore that pink bow. '_Since then? Is this one of those things she always carried with her? ' _It had to be. She was rarely without the pink ribbon, and he now knew it was him that she wore it for, because he had told her he liked it.

He remembered, then, that was the first day they met – the first day of pre-school - and she had begun her bullying of him. No. At first she was nice and didn’t pick on him at all. He had thought she looked sad and he wanted to be friends with her and make her smile. And he had. Until. He remembered all the kids laughing at her when he gave her his snack. It staggered him to know how much that act affected her and her life. And his.

Helga still shook with the effort of not letting herself cry. Arnold stared at her and finally understood everything clearly - her feelings and his. More than understood. He felt overwhelmed with the knowledge that this girl had loved him for seven years and hid it for so long. She was hiding that she still loved him and she was scared of him not loving her back and being rejected again. Then he smiled and thought about how much he couldn’t stop thinking about her either – ever since the morning when she confessed. _‘Do I love her?’_ he asked himself, but he knew the answer. This last week proved it to him - why he’d acted the way he had since last year, all the thoughts he had, constantly thinking about her, wanting to always be with her, wanting to kiss her. It was much more than just like-liking her, and much more than just a crush. He felt oddly at peace now that he finally acknowledged what he actually felt - what he had felt for a very long time. He loved her back.

He reached toward her and touched her upper arm, causing her to flinch. “Helga, look at me,” he demanded, but in a gentle tone.

“No!” she cried stubbornly.

“Helga!” he insisted, putting pressure on her arm.

She turned, but kept her eyes directly on the ground. 

“Look at me,” he repeated. “Please.”

He could see the internal struggle on her face as she fought with herself to comply and to not comply with his request. When her eyes finally darted up and met his, he almost gasped at the fire in them, and the unshed tears. He had never seen them such a dark blue. Mr. Simmons wasn't kidding about her intensity - she had never looked at him like that, with such anger and humiliation and hurt. He almost laughed at the thought that flitted across his mind. _‘A future with Helga Pataki is not going to be a dull one.’_

“What?” she growled.

“I think-I think I do understand. You don’t have to be afraid, Helga.”

She didn’t answer, just glared at him. It unnerved her how close he was to her and what he said confused her. She couldn't read the expression in his eyes. He looked almost amused and content. That made her want to run and hide even more. _‘He probably thinks I’m a huge joke.’_

There were a dozen things he wanted to say, but nothing seemed right somehow. He stared at her, not bothered much by her expression of anger. He knew she must feel trapped and embarrassed. Arnold then did the only thing he could think to do, even though he couldn’t think of what to say. He quickly grasped her upper arms and before she could protest, he pulled her closer, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips against hers.

Helga's arms still hugged herself tightly when Arnold grabbed her. It only increased her anger, but suddenly he was kissing her, his soft lips shy and tentative against her own. Her eyes widened in shock and she couldn’t react at first. Without thinking about it, she tilted her head to the side slightly, her lips moving against his, kissing him back as her eyes closed. She whimpered – a small sound just loud enough for him to hear. Arnold thrilled inside as he felt her respond to his clumsy attempt at a kiss. The feel of her lips pressing back and that small sound she made put his head into a spin. After what seemed like a too short time to her, he slowly pulled back, his eyes opening to look at her. She too opened her eyes and could see hesitation and nervousness in his expression as he waited to see what she would do, though his hands still gripped her arms tightly. 

Arnold could see all the anger had drained from her, only to be replaced with a shocked expression he had to try very hard not to laugh at. He couldn’t believe he had finally done it, after wanting to kiss her for so long. His heart still raced, as it had at FTi, and while this kiss wasn’t as passionate as the one she gave him then, it was enough to send a shock through him that felt like his feet were rooted to the ground. Arnold wanted to kiss her more, but knew he had to explain himself to her. He had to admit, though, leaving Helga Pataki speechless was quite satisfying.

The two stared at each other for a long time, both hesitant and both unsure of what to say or do. Finally, Helga whispered Arnold’s name in a questioning tone.

“Helga,” he said her name in a voice not much louder than her whisper. “Don’t be afraid. Of me, of what I feel, of what I think.”

Helga’s eyes closed because she couldn’t take the intensity of his pleading eyes looking at her. “I don’t understand.”

She heard a soft chuckle from him, and in the same quiet voice – the low pitched tone making small shivers race up her spine. “Don’t be so stubborn. You don’t have any reason to be afraid.” He waited until she opened her eyes again and said, “I just want the truth from you.”

“The truth?” she asked in a faint voice, still hugging herself tightly.

“Yes the truth. What you said on the roof that morning…”

Helga flinched and he tightened his grip on her arms. “Please Arnold! I beg you! Don’t ask me about that,” she said, distressed.

“I have to, and like I said, don’t be afraid. I need you to be honest with me.” She couldn’t look away from him, though she desperately wanted to run away. “Was what you said true? How you feel about me? Do you still feel that way?”

In spite of him kissing her and his reassurances, she still felt unsure of what was going on. “What does it matter?” she asked, wincing inside at the bitterness of her tone.

“It matters to me.”

“Why?”

“Because I hope you still feel that way,” he admitted. When her eyes widened with surprise and that adorable expression he loved, he quirked his half-smile at her. “If everything I’ve done this week, and this whole past year, hasn’t proved that to you, then you must be denser than I am,” he teased her.

Startled, she listened to what he said, then gave a small cry as her arms relaxed. He didn’t quite know how to interpret that and was about to ask her when…

“ARNOLD!”

“HELGA!”

“Damn!” Arnold cried.


	24. You Really Are a God

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little talk in a Green Eye Temple, and Gerald continues to have the worst timing.

**Chapter 24 - You Really Are a God**

Helga stared at Arnold wide-eyed, even as she stepped back when he let go of her, utterly confused. She heard their names called again and looked up to see Gerald and Phoebe’s head peek over the edge of the cliff, huge smiles on their faces. Did they see her and Arnold kissing?

“We found you! Hang on!” Gerald yelled, even as Phoebe disappeared from his side to find a way down to where Helga and Arnold stood by the water. 

Helga returned her gaze to Arnold, who was looking at her steadily with a goofy grin on his face. Her lips started curling into a smile, but she was distracted by Gerald and Phoebe running up to them; Phoebe carried Helga’s backpack, which she dropped on the ground as she hugged Helga and Gerald threw his arms around Arnold.

“We were so worried man!” Gerald said.

Helga hugged Phoebe back, but stiffly. She was still in shock that Arnold kissed her. Voluntarily kissed her. She had a fleeting feeling of anger at her best friend and Gerald for interrupting them even as she was thrilled to see them. Couldn’t they have waited ten minutes?

“Are you alright, Helga?” Phoebe asked, looking closely at her friend, concerned.

“Uh, yeah, I’m great. Happy to see you!” she assured Phoebe, though her eyes still looked wild.

“You hurt yourself?” Gerald asked, pointing at Helga’s ribbon wrapped around Arnold’s arm.

“Um yeah. I fell. We didn’t have any bandages,” he explained.

Gerald looked at Helga with a grin. “Without your pigtails and bow, and your hair like that, you look like a wild Amazon.”

Helga made a face at him, but had to laugh. She knew she looked a mess.

“What is that Gerald?” Arnold asked, only now noticing the amulet around his friends’ neck.

Gerald looked down, reaching up to hold it in his hand. “We found it, I think it’s a Green Eyes thing. It matches the carvings we saw in the Temple.”

“Temple?” Arnold asked blankly.

“We had such an adventure yesterday!” Phoebe told them.

“An adventure? What happened?” Arnold asked, glancing at Helga.

“Man what didn’t happen is a better question!” Gerald exclaimed.

“Spit it out, Tall Hair Boy,” Helga said, crossing her arms. She was still a little shaken by what had happened.

“We found two places we think our class might be,” Gerald explained. “Phoebe spotted what looks like a cave about halfway up that mountain.” He gestured vaguely in the direction of the center of the island. 

“We had already passed the pier when I saw it,” Phoebe jumped in.

“You found that?” Arnold asked excitedly.

Phoebe nodded. “Yes, we actually came across it quite early yesterday. We did not see anyone, though we stopped there for a while to hide and watch.”

“I even went inland a little bit. There’s a pretty well used trail leading away from it, but I didn’t want to go too far by myself,” Gerald added.

“While Gerald was gone, a boat arrived and La Sombra came ashore with the other men he had with him when they captured us. I do not know what they said, but La Sombra looked very angry and I was so scared that they would see Gerald when they disappeared up the trail,” Phoebe said, her voice betraying her worry. She looked at Helga, “What does…’los voy a matar’ mean, Helga?”

Helga’s eyes narrowed, “Did La Sombra say that?”

Phoebe nodded, “He was, quite a few times. At least, that is what it sounded like, and he sounded angry.”

Helga took a long moment to answer and she finally said flatly, not meeting anyone’s eye, “I’m going to kill them.”

The other three looked at each other nervously. Arnold cleared his throat. “Go on,” he prompted quietly. 

“Luckily they made enough noise that I heard them coming,” Gerald continued the story. “I hid in the bushes near the side of the trail until they went by. They didn’t see me. I debated whether or not to follow them, but since it was only me and five of them, and they all had guns,” he shrugged. “I just wanted to get back to see if Pheebs was ok.”

“When Gerald got back, we decided to keep going. There are less trees near there, and it was getting close to sunset. That is when I spotted the cave on the mountainside,” Phoebe continued. “We knew we would not be able to reach it before it got dark, and that is when we saw the temple.”

“A Green Eye temple, from the looks of it,” Gerald said. “It was in a little way from the shore, but we could see it. It looked abandoned, so we decided to try our luck there. It doesn’t look like anyone has been there for a while.”

“So La Sombra made his hideout on an island near a Green Eye temple?” Arnold asked, looking at his friends. “I would think stealing from them would be enough.”

“It is a remote island,” Phoebe pointed out. “I’m sure that has something to do with it. It has obviously worked at keeping La Sombra concealed, if he has remained uncaught all of these years.”

“True,” Arnold agreed.

“Since we didn’t see anyone there, we spent the night in the temple,” Gerald said. He grinned at Phoebe, who blushed slightly. 

“We did not get much of a chance to look through it, but we found an inner chamber that had that amulet in it,” Phoebe said, pointing at the figure hanging from a leather thong from Gerald’s neck. Her tone was a little flustered from Gerald’s look. 

Gerald took it off and handed it to Arnold, who held it up to look closely at it. It was about the size of a grown-up’s hand and was flat and round. The edges were not even – it was not a perfect circle, but had notches cut in around the edge. The carving also went through the whole thing, so holding it up you could see through it. “You said this symbol is in the Temple?”

“Yes,” replied Phoebe. “Or rather, symbols very similar to this. At least from what we could see before it got too dark.”

“We wanted to find you both as soon as possible when we woke up. I am sure La Sombra is angry because we are not here,” Phoebe said.

“So we left as soon as the sun was up. Man, I’m so glad we found you. I saw Helga’s backpack up there,” Gerald said, gesturing toward the top of the cliff. “Scared the crap out of me, to be honest. I thought you’d got caught.”

“I must have dropped it up there when Arnold fell,” Helga said.

“You fell just now?” Gerald asked.

Arnold nodded, glancing once at Helga, “Well, a little bit ago,” he hedged, grasping his upper arm with his other hand.

“Good thing Florence Nightingale was here then,” Gerald teased.

Arnold laughed and Helga could hear how nervous he was. “Yeah, I’m definitely happy Helga was here.”

Helga ignored the smile she caught Phoebe giving her.

Gerald, oblivious to the unspoken signals, urged Arnold, “You have to see the temple. You won’t believe what’s inside.”

“Yes Arnold,” Phoebe agreed. “It is not far from here at all.”

Arnold and Helga looked at each other again. “Yeah,” said Arnold, “let’s go see it.”

* * *

The temple was about a half hour walk from where Gerald and Phoebe found them. Arnold and Helga walked behind their friends, shyly glancing at each other often. At one point, he hesitantly reached for her hand and it startled her when she felt his fingers touch hers. She looked at him to see him looking back at her with a hopeful expression. She couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face as she closed her fingers around his. Arnold felt relieved as he held her hand tightly. Helga hadn’t really answered his questions earlier, though he was sure he knew her answers.

They let go of each other when they approached the temple. It wasn’t very large, but it was impressive. They entered it silently and looked around. Carvings resembling Arnold graced the walls. Eduardo had told the truth and Arnold looked self-conscious about it.

“This couldn’t be the temple where you were born,” Helga mused softly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful feeling that came over all of them upon entering. “Your Dad’s journal doesn’t mention an island.”

Arnold shook his head, “No, it can’t be.”

“This is kind of surreal, don’t you think?” Phoebe asked.

Arnold nodded. “Where did you find the amulet?”

Gerald pointed straight in front of them. “If you go down this passage, there’s a small room. It was there. We only got to explore that room, but we spent the night in the room on the right. It must have an opening in the ceiling or something, because whenever the moon came out, we could see pretty well.”

“I didn’t even notice that the moon was out. I thought it was cloudy all night,” Arnold said. “But then, we both fell asleep.”

They split up and wandered through the Temple, Phoebe and Gerald going down one passage and Helga and Arnold going down another. They ended up in a room covered in carvings of a baby Arnold and a niche in the wall holding an icon that could only have been Arnold. The subject of the carvings paused in the middle of the room to look around, while Helga-still feeling a little awkward about what happened and knowing they were now alone-wandered over to the carved idol.

“I can’t believe this,” he said, trying to laugh.

“You really are a God,” she whispered, looking over the icon.

Arnold sighed about that, then looked around to make sure they were alone before crossing the room to be closer to her. “Helga, about earlier.”

She turned from the icon and looked at him, her expression a little worried and hesitant, afraid he was going to take it back, like at FTi. 

“I-I’m sorry if I crossed a line or did something you didn’t want me to,” he began, rubbing the back of his neck.

She looked down, a little smile playing about her lips. Helga thought briefly that he was going to suggest a ‘heat of the moment’ thing and didn’t want that to happen, but was nervous about being bold with him, so she said shyly, “You didn’t.”

He liked this shy Helga and he smiled before he drew in a deep breath. “Good,” he said as quietly. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” he admitted.

She looked up then, with that wide-eyed surprised look he found adorable. “You have?”

He nodded. “You sort of shocked me at FTi, but I liked it when you kissed me. Then everything happened so fast with all the neighborhood stuff. And it took me awhile to, I guess, understand what happened. I thought you hated me. Wait, no. I know you’ve never really hated me, but I never thought you liked me very much. I know I didn’t handle it right and I’m sorry about that. I’m sorry if I hurt you. I know you think I rejected you, but it was just that I couldn’t process what happened. I didn’t know what to think at first. Then school ended and I missed you when you were gone all summer and I tried to talk to you about it when school started,” he explained. “Well you know how that went.”

Helga looked a little embarrassed about that, but kept her wide-eyed gaze on him as he continued. “I tried to give you space, but it wasn’t easy. I wanted so much to talk to you and tell you what I felt, but you kept avoiding me. I didn’t know what to do, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you and what happened last year.”

“Arnold…” Helga said, so softly he barely heard her. He was finally getting to say what he had wanted to say most of the year.

“I hoped you would eventually feel comfortable with me again but it never seemed that you would. I wasn’t sure if you still liked me and I was so confused. Then the contest happened - the essay. I figured it might be you that wrote it. I didn’t know for sure until a couple of nights ago, but I thought it was you…”

She interrupted him, her eyes a little wild. “The essay? What makes you think I wrote it?” she cried.

“You were the only one I could think of that could write something like that. You knew about my parents and the prize winner picked the destination.”

“So? That doesn’t mean anything!”

“Helga, come on. I know you don’t think I’m that stupid! I can’t tell you how happy I am to know you were the one to write it! It let me know that you at least still liked me.”

She looked down, a mixture of pleasure and distress in her expression. “I never wanted you to find out.”

“I thought that. I asked Mr. Simmons who wrote it and he wouldn’t tell me, but something he said confirmed what I thought. I asked him then if it was you and he said it was. He said he promised not to tell me unless I asked him if it was you. But Helga, don’t be embarrassed that I know. I’m so glad it’s you. I just-I just don’t know how to thank you.”

“I didn’t do it for any reward.”

“I know. I know why you did it, and that is one of the many amazing things about you.”

She raised her eyes to look at him, her cheeks bright red. She could see his sincerity and something else that made her heart feel as if it had stopped. 

“This trip has been…crazy…to me. I’m so excited about possibly finding my parents, but I’ve also been really distracted by you and trying to figure out if you still,” he paused over the word, “loved me.”

Helga didn’t know what to say. Her cheeks were still red, which he thought made her more adorable. He took a step closer to her intending to start back where they left off. She stared at him with a small smile and he noted to himself that the sad expression he had seen in her eyes all year was gone. If anything, they were shining. Arnold knew then that she did still love him. “Helga…” he began, finally ready to tell her back what she had told him at FTi. “I…”

“There you are!” Gerald said from the entrance to the room. “Come in here Arnold, I found something.” Gerald beckoned to them both as he turned and retreated back into the passage.

Arnold rolled his eyes, looking frustrated. “Gerald has the worst timing,” he muttered, but reached out his hand toward her, smiling. “We can talk later.” She took it shyly, frustrated herself, and they headed out of the room, following Gerald.


	25. Some Indiana Jones Level Stuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The friends explore the temple and find something interesting.

**Chapter 25 - Some Indiana Jones Level Stuff**

Gerald led them to a room, where Phoebe stood waiting, and they let go of each other’s hand. “There’s not much here,” Gerald said. “But we did find some pretty cool spears.”

Arnold gritted his teeth at being interrupted in telling Helga he loved her only to be shown some spears, but he was fascinated by them. They still looked sharp and dangerous and were decorated with symbols. He silently took the one Gerald handed to him and balanced it in his two hands, looking closely at the carvings and paintings on them. “It’s hard to tell how old these are, but they look brand new.”

“I do hope they are not ceremonial as opposed to functional,” Phoebe said. “Gerald thought you and he might take them to use to defend yourselves, but if they are sacred…” she added, trailing off. 

“He is their God,” Helga pointed out. “If anyone should be able to use the spears, it should be Arnold.” Then she threw a sly glance at Gerald, “And his trusty sidekick…”

Gerald laughed. “Hey, who says I’m not the superhero and Arnold’s MY sidekick?”

“You’re not a God, Tall Hair Boy,” Helga said, smirking at him.

Before they could further mock-argue over it, Arnold said thoughtfully, “We can take them. I know La Sombra and his men have guns and these aren’t much of a defense against that, but at least we’ll have something. I’ll feel a little better with these.”

“There’s only two spears,” Gerald said, holding up the one in his hand. 

“I’ve got my knife and I’m happy with that,” Helga said.

“And I have my pole from the boat still,” said Phoebe, gesturing to where it leaned against the wall next to their pile of backpacks.

Arnold glanced around the room, still holding the spear Gerald had found. There was a sort of altar at one end of the room on a raised dais. Another statue of him was placed on it, though this statue was quite large. He went over to look at it, then turned from it, blushing. He was a pretty modest kid and seeing images of himself all over the Temple was sort of overwhelming. 

Gerald practiced lunging with his spear while Helga and Phoebe wandered over to the other end of the room, where the wall was intricately carved with symbols. 

“Something seems very odd to me, Helga,” Phoebe said quietly.

Helga glanced at her guiltily and swallowed hard, thinking Phoebe saw her and Arnold back at the beach earlier. “What do you mean?” she managed to squeak out.

Phoebe looked at her best friend curiously, wondering at her tone of voice. “I mean that this room seems too small.”

Helga stared a moment, not expecting that. “Too small? It seems pretty big to me, Pheebs.”

Phoebe shook her head. “No, it is not. I could swear it should be a little bigger. At least from the look of it from the outside. I did not notice it last night,” and here she blushed and Helga made a mental note to find out more about Phoebe and Gerald’s time in the Temple, “but this room should be bigger. Everything in this Temple is symmetrical.”

“Symmetrical?”

Phoebe nodded. “If you split it down the middle, it would look the same on both sides. Or it should. This room should match the room that you and Arnold were in, but it does not. That’s the room we slept in last night, and I remember it being bigger than this room.”

Helga took Phoebe at her word, though she wasn’t sure herself. It looked the same to her, now that Phoebe had pointed it out. The only difference she saw was the that carved idol of Arnold was much bigger and on a dais here, as opposed to being a smaller stone idol in a niche in the wall. 

“I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything, Pheebs.”

“And I am quite sure that it does.”

Helga grinned at Phoebe’s tone. The smaller girl had certainly gotten more confidence in herself and was much more self-assured. “So what does it mean?”

Phoebe ran her hands over the wall. “I only wish I knew what these carvings meant. I do not know if it is a language, like Egyptian Hieroglyphics, or just a symbolic representation of something. None of the symbols LOOK like anything, but that does not mean that they are not representative of something.”

“Maybe there’s a hidden room or something? Like some Indiana Jones level stuff?” Helga asked.

“I suppose it is possible. We do not know anything about these Green Eyes,” Phoebe agreed. 

“La Sombra must have been all over this Temple,” Helga mused, also reaching up a hand to lightly touch one of the carvings. “I’d be surprised if he hadn’t found it.”

Phoebe just hmm’ed to herself in response to Helga. She paced to the other end of the wall, then back, looking everything over carefully. Helga stepped back, crossing her arms in front of her chest and watched as Phoebe went back and forth. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Arnold and Gerald were still occupied over by the dais. She caught Arnold’s eye and he smiled at her, which made her blush a little before she looked back to Phoebe.

Phoebe had stopped at a certain spot in the wall and was leaned closer to look at something on the wall that was just below her eye level. “Helga, come here and look at this.”

Helga joined Phoebe, looking curiously at the spot to which Phoebe pointed. “What is it Pheebs?”

“This carving is different from all of the others,” Phoebe said.

Helga looked around at the surrounding carvings. “All of them are different from each other.”

“The subjects are different, Helga,” Phoebe pointed out, “but the method of carving and the overall look of the carvings is the same. See? This one is recessed into the wall, as opposed to being a sort a frieze.”

“In English, Pheebs.”

Phoebe actually giggled. “All the others stick out, this one does not.”

Helga could see what she meant. The carvings on the wall were all sort of popped out, such as a relief. The one Phoebe pointed at was carved into the wall. “So what does that mean?”

Instead of answering her, Phoebe yelled Gerald’s name, startling the boy enough that he dropped his spear. Gerald looked sheepishly at Arnold, who just grinned at his friend while Gerald bent to pick up the dropped weapon. “Coming Pheebs,” he tried to say as smoothly as he could.

Both boys joined the girls and Phoebe said, “Hand me the amulet you found, please.”

Gerald had put the amulet back on again and he looked down at it. “Alright,” he said, handing Arnold the spear so that he could pull the amulet off over his head and his tall hair. “Here,” he said as he handed it over to her.

“I thought so,” Phoebe murmured to herself as she looked at the amulet, then at the wall. She took the amulet, which Helga saw was the same size and shape of the carving Phoebe was focused on, and pressed it into the wall. It slid in for a perfect fit.

“Phoebe, what…” Helga began, but broke off. Phoebe pushed with all her strength against the amulet. There was a grinding sound that seemed loud in the quiet room and it startled Helga, Gerald, and Arnold. Part of the wall began turning, a small door-like section next to the carving Phoebe pressed against.

“A door!” Gerald gasped. Arnold leaned the spears against the wall to the side and helped Gerald push against the slightly ajar door until it opened further. 

“What’s back there?” Helga demanded. 

“I can’t see, it’s too dark. Where’s the flashlight?” Arnold asked.

Helga rushed over to her backpack where it rested with the others and dug through hers and Arnold’s to get their flashlights, then returned to the half open door and handed Arnold one of the flashlights. “You did it Pheebs!”

Phoebe grinned, a slight blush on her cheeks. “Just using logic Helga!”

“Come on Football Head, let’s see what’s back there,” Helga said, stepping to the door and clicking on her flashlight.

Arnold caught her arm, stopping her. “Hang on Helga. We don’t know what’s back there. Let’s not just rush in. Let me go first. And we’ll go slow.”

Helga heard the worry in his voice and wanted to protest, but she also caught the stubborn glance he gave her and knew better. She was learning quickly which battles to fight with him and which to let him win. “Ok,” she said meekly, surprising Gerald and Phoebe.

Arnold clicked on his flashlight too and stepped to the door, shining the light around. “It doesn’t look like a big room,” he reported. “Keep an eye out for anyone?” he asked Phoebe and Gerald, who just nodded as he disappeared through the door, followed closely by Helga.

* * *

“Should we worry about the air here?” Helga asked as they stepped into the darkened room, swinging their flashlights back and forth.

“The air?”

“It might be stale, you know, like in mines. You can die breathing it in.”

Arnold stopped, now a little nervous. “Um, I didn’t think of that.”

“Well, we don’t have a canary or anything like that,” Helga said, shrugging. “If you feel light-headed, though, say something. This room isn’t large and we should be able to get out if it’s bad.”

Arnold gulped and nodded. He felt her hand creep into his and he gave it a squeeze as they both directed their lights around the room, quickly illuminating another niche in the wall opposite the opening into the main room. There was something in the niche, but it was too dark to see. They looked at each other, barely visible in the little light coming in through the door.

“Let’s make sure there’s nothing else in this room,” Helga suggested quietly, playing her light over the low ceiling. Arnold moved his light carefully over the floor.

“Looks clear,” Helga said in a louder voice and she and Arnold crossed the room to the other wall and shone their light into the niche.

There was a stone box resting in the back.

They looked at each other once more, before letting go of their hands. Arnold handed Helga his flashlight and she shone both on the box as he reached toward it. It wasn’t anchored down and he was able to slowly pull it closer to them, grunting a little with the effort.

“It can’t be this easy, whatever is in there,” Helga murmured.

Arnold just grinned at her. “Let’s see if I can get it open first.”

He brushed off the dirt and dust enough to see that the stone box was covered with esoteric symbols similar to the ones on the wall outside, only these were not only carved into the box, but were also painted, though the colors were somewhat faded. He was surprised that the stone felt warm to the touch, not cold as he expected. The top was a lid, which didn’t look to be secured. With one more glance at Helga, who stood so close to him he could feel the heat from her arm on his, he grasped the lid and said, “Here goes nothing.”

Arnold pushed the lid aside, and the moment the inside was exposed, a bright green light flooded the room emanating from the box. Helga gasped, drawing slightly away, but Arnold kept pushing the lid aside until it fell with a sharp thud next to the box. Both of them leaned forward and peered into the box.

“El Corazon,” Arnold whispered.

“Are you sure?”

“It has to be. It’s like what Dad described in the journal.”

“I didn’t realize it was a necklace,” Helga said softly. “It’s kind of like that amulet Gerald found.”

Helga and Arnold stood staring into the box, partially mesmerized by the light emanating from the relic.

“How…?” Helga asked in a low tone, her voice trailing off.

Arnold didn’t answer and he couldn’t take his eyes off the amulet. It was a stylized eye with some jewel set in the center where the pupil would be. The jewel was like nothing of which he had ever seen or heard. It glowed, with enough light that it illuminated both of their faces. When he did look up at Helga, he saw how her face was bathed in the light and he actually frowned, since it made her look sickly. 

“Helga!” he said sharply as he saw she had dropped the flashlight next to the stone box and one of her hands moved toward the amulet. 

She jerked her hand back, the spell broken as her eyes darted up to meet his. Arnold braced for a sharp retort that never came, though her eyes sparked with a challenge. “Sorry,” she finally said. “I just seem to want to touch it.”

“I know, I do too,” he admitted.

“What should we do?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t want to leave it here. I want to get it back to the Green Eyes, wherever they are.”

“You could wear it,” Helga suggested.

Arnold looked back down at the amulet, his stomach churning at the thought. He knew it was sacred, but not only that, it frightened him. The unexplained glow made him hesitant to touch it and he remembered what his father had written about it in his journal. His father had told his mother not to even look at it, and here he and Helga were doing just that. It made him anxious for her safety.

“I don’t know. It’s really sacred.”

“You’re their God, Arnold,” Helga pointed out. “Doesn’t get much more sacred than that.”

He looked up at her and saw her smiling at him, in that way that made his brain go fuzzy. “True,” he agreed, then without another thought, he reached down to grab the leather thong attached to the relic. “Here goes nothing.”

Arnold slipped the amulet over his head, trying not to touch the actual relic, and instead maneuvering it by holding the thong. As it settled against his chest, he felt a sort of warmth spread through him – an electric sort of buzzing that made him feel light-headed.

“I could swear that thing is glowing brighter now,” Helga said quietly. He looked at her again and saw how worried her eyes were, though she still smiled. “Do you feel any different?”

“I do,” he said, looking down at the amulet. “But I can’t explain how. This thing almost feels alive,” he added in a thoughtful voice.

She gazed at him, “Well, jewelry really doesn’t do much for ya, Football Head,” she said in a joking tone, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

It worked. He grinned at her. “Oh, I’m sure you won’t think less of me,” he teased, pleased at how flustered she looked.

She turned from him to look at the rest of the room, which was now faintly illuminated from the greenish glow of the jewel. “We should probably get out of here. I want to check out that cave and see if our class is there. At least we’ve found El Corazon.”

Arnold nodded, coming over to stand next to her. “I think that’s the best we can do,” he agreed, reaching for her hand.

When their hands touched, the amulet seemed to glow even brighter and Helga gasped. Arnold looked sharply at her and saw that her eyes were closed and she stood rigidly, her hand clutching tightly at his.

“Helga? Helga!”

Her eyes fluttered open and she turned her head towards him. He felt a cold chill at the look in her eyes. She seemed…gone…was the word that came to him. “Helga?” he whispered.

“Don’t let me go!” she cried.

“No! I won’t!” he promised, taking her other hand in his free hand. The amulet glowed even more. “I’ve got you!” he said, thinking she meant to not let go of her hands.

Helga stared at him with a blank look that further unnerved him. What did she see? What was making her look like that?

“Helga, talk to me! What’s wrong!?”

“Don’t let me go!” she repeated.

“I’m not! I have your hands! I’m right here!”

After a few moments, the glow of the amulet faded somewhat, but still remained a strong green that lit their faces. She was the one to let him go,

“El Corazon,” Helga said softly, looking at Arnold. “The heart.”

“Huh?” Arnold asked, looking at her confusedly.

“It means ‘the heart’, in Spanish. I’m confused, because I thought the Green Eyes don’t speak Spanish.”

“What do you think it means? The heart?”

“I don’t know,” she answered shakily. “I just felt my heart empty. Like I’d never be happy again.”

“I didn’t feel that,” he said, frowning. “I felt…I don’t know. Hopeful, I guess. Like everything would work out.”

“Why didn’t I feel that?” she asked.

He took her hands again and the amulet glowed brighter again. He stared into her eyes and saw that blank look come back, which concerned him, because once again, he felt that surge of hope. Yet as he looked at her, he detected what she meant. Something was going to happen, something that would make his heart ache for a long time. It would hurt, he knew, but then it would be alright. Everything would be alright.

“What are you thinking of?” he whispered to her and he could see her eyes focus on him, coming back from that blank space.

“You.”

In spite of the warmth in his heart that El Corazon generated, he felt a cold thread dart its’ way in. Why would she feel her heart empty when thinking about him? They were now…something. He as much as said he loved her and he knew she loved him. Was El Corazon showing them their future? He both hoped so and hoped not, if she felt that way. El Corazon was making him feel good about the future, but he was also thinking about his parents as well as Helga. Was the heart ache he felt due to his parents or Helga?

“You don’t feel,” he paused, thinking of the right word, “anything good?” He asked this with a trembling voice, hoping and hoping she would feel something wonderful like he was feeling.

Saying that, he squeezed her hands tightly enough that she winced, but it did change. A slight feeling of warmth started flowing through her, seeming to emanate from his hands. Helga looked down at their hands, bathed in the green light, then looked back into his eyes – eyes that seemed somehow a deeper green than she’d ever seen. “A little,” she gasped. “But it won’t be for a long time.” She added, almost as if in a trance, “And only if you bring it to me.” With that she dropped his hands and seemed to come back to herself.

“Arnold? Helga?”

They turned to see Gerald poking his head in at the entrance.

“You guys alright?”

Arnold shook himself to focus back on the moment and not at what Helga just mysteriously said. “Yeah Gerald,” he replied, looking at Helga. “Come on. I’m a little scared to hold your hand,” he admitted with a tone of regret. He liked holding her hand.

“It’s ok,” she said in a subdued tone. In all honesty, she was completely rattled inside. The overwhelming feeling of nothing that had gripped her heart scared her more than she’d ever been scared in her life. She never wanted to feel that way again.

The two went outside of the room where Gerald and Phoebe waited. 

“What is that?” Gerald asked, obviously noticing the amulet strung around Arnold’s neck. The glow had subsided, but was still noticeable.

“El Corazon?” Phoebe asked in a voice just above a whisper.

Arnold nodded distractedly, the worried frown still creasing his forehead.

“You ok, buddy?”

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s just…I don’t know. There’s something weird about this. Don’t touch me,” he warned. “Something happens to you when you do.”

“What?” Gerald asked.

Arnold explained what happened to a confused Phoebe and Gerald. Neither could quite believe what happened – and Arnold didn’t tell them everything he and Helga said to each other, which Helga noticed and was grateful for.

“It would be nice to be able to ask the Green Eyes what this amulet does,” Arnold said, looking once again down at the relic nestled against his chest. Though not as strong as it was when he was holding Helga’s hands, he still felt that warm, positive, and hopeful feeling in his heart, especially when he looked at the now-quiet blond girl standing next to him.

“I am sure we will meet with them at some point,” Phoebe said. Her eyes were on Helga, who was surprisingly quiet and looked upset. 

“What now?” asked Gerald.

“I think we should try and see if we can find our class,” Arnold answered.

“That path to the cave,” Helga said. “Was it far? I’d like to check that out.”

“It is not far at all,” Phoebe answered.

“Let’s get our stuff and get going, then,” Arnold decided.


	26. I've Got You!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to get up to the cave and see what's there!

**Chapter 26 - I've Got You!**

They approached the cave warily, unsure of what to expect. The trail along the mountainside was narrow – about the width of a grown-up man’s shoulders at some points along the trail - and they could only walk it one at a time. Though the cave wasn’t very high up the side of the mountain, it was high enough and all of them tried not to look over the edge.

Arnold went first, followed by Helga, Phoebe, and then Gerald. Each was still armed, Helga with the large knife she had taken from the guard in the boat safely in the sheath on her rope belt, Phoebe with the small spar, and Arnold and Gerald with the spears Gerald found in the temple. 

Arnold stopped, holding up his hand for the others to halt, which they did. 

“Arnold?” Helga questioned.

“Shh. I think I heard something,” he whispered.

The four looked around, their ears straining for any sound. Then Arnold heard it again, a soft slithering sort of sound, then jumped when a small rock landed in front of him. 

“Rock slide!” Phoebe squeaked, having looked up.

The other three glanced up to see a small slide of rocks and dirt coming towards them. Gerald grabbed Phoebe’s arm and yanked her back, even as Helga jumped away from Arnold just as the rocks landed on the path where she’d been standing. As she jumped back, her foot caught the edge of the trail and slid, throwing her off balance. Her shriek as she went over the edge stabbed at Arnold’s heart. “NO!” he yelled, unable to reach her with all the rocks blocking him.

“Helga!” Phoebe screamed, her and Gerald scrambling to the edge to look down.

“I’m here, Pheebs,” Helga’s voice called up. “Help me!”

Helga had been lucky to fall over the edge at a point where the mountain wasn’t steep, but she was still in danger. There were some stunted trees scratching out an existence on the mountainside and she had been able to grab at one as she fell. She climbed up to straddle the trunk, which stood out at an angle from the side of the mountain, but she was far enough down where she couldn’t reach the trail edge.

“Helga!” Arnold yelled. 

“I’m alright Football Head!” she yelled back. The sound of her saying her nickname for him reassured him more than anything. While the rockslide was small, there was a lot of rocks blocking the path between him and the others, so he started to clear them away as fast as he could, coughing at the dust raised as he did.

“Hang on, Pataki!” Gerald called down to her. He sat back on his heels and pulled his backpack off. “I grabbed some of that rope they tied us up with,” he told Phoebe. “I hope there’s a piece long enough.”

He dug out several pieces of rope, glanced over the edge again, then picked out the longest. He looked at Phoebe, who was watching him anxiously. “This rope isn’t very strong looking, but it’s all we got.”

“Will it reach her?”

“Let’s see.”

With him and Phoebe holding the rope, he tossed the other end over the edge. Helga stretched as far as she could and couldn’t quite reach it. “It’s not long enough!” she yelled to Gerald. 

“I can tie knots, Gerald,” Phoebe said. “Let’s add the next longest piece.”

Gerald silently handed it to Phoebe, who tied a complex, though strong-looking knot, making the rope long enough. Helga tied a knot in the end of it to give herself a handhold. 

“How’s it coming Arnold? I may need your help to pull her up,” Gerald shouted to Arnold.

“It will be a few minutes.”

Phoebe had been looking over the edge; Helga was looking up, her hands against the face of the mountain. A sharp cracking sound suddenly shot up from the tree Helga was sitting on. “Hurry Phoebe!” she cried. “It’s breaking!”

“Gerald! Now!” Phoebe screamed. “She’s going to fall!”

Hearing that, Arnold worked faster, in a panic now. Knowing that there wasn’t time, Gerald yelled down to her, “You’ll have to help Pataki!” He and Phoebe clung to the rope and pulled. The rope went taut as Helga started up to the path, her feet finding footholds automatically, her eyes steady on the path ahead of her. She didn’t dare look down, though she tried hard not to notice how thin the rope was she was using to climb.

It took a few minutes, but as she reached the edge, she was relieved to see Arnold’s head peer over. He had run right over once he was able. The fear on his face almost made her laugh, a reaction she couldn’t believe she was having considering her current position. He reached his hand over the edge. “It’s ok! I’ve got you!”

_‘You sure do,’_ she thought, her left hand releasing the rope and clutching at his. With her other hand still on the rope that Gerald and Phoebe were pulling, and Arnold pulling on her left hand, she made it over the edge and, with Arnold holding her, scrambled against the mountainside as far from the edge as possible.

That’s when the realization of what happened hit her, and she started shaking uncontrollably. She buried her face against Arnold’s chest and trembled. He, in turn, tightened his arms around her. “It’s ok. You’re safe now,” he said in a low tone, trying to soothe her.

Phoebe and Gerald also leaned against the mountainside, exhausted. They looked at each other for a moment, then Phoebe crawled over to Helga and Arnold and also wrapped her arms around her friend, and they stayed like that until Helga stopped trembling. 

Helga finally pushed against them, lifting her head up and tried to joke about it. “Ok guys, enough with the hugging already! Get off me, I can’t breathe!” She looked at Arnold, whose expression was worried and still reflected his fear. He saw how pale she was, but she tried to smile bravely at him, so he smiled back. 

Phoebe pulled back as well and the four sat there, side by side quietly for another few minutes. Helga brushed at her legs, wincing at the scrapes she had received. She was grateful she didn’t seem to have any serious cuts, but knew she’d probably have a few decent bruises soon.

“Ok, break’s over,” Helga said, pushing herself to a standing position. “Come on!” She reached down to take Phoebe’s hand and help her up. 

“Geez, Pataki, you just almost died,” Gerald said, standing up.

“But I didn’t,” she said matter-of-factly, looking at him. She seemed to hesitate as Arnold stood up behind her. Then, surprising Gerald, she gave him an awkward hug. “Thanks for saving me,” she managed to say. 

He hugged her back, looking at Phoebe over Helga’s shoulder. “Well, I couldn’t let anything happen to my girls’ best friend,” he said softly, which made Phoebe’s eyes widen as she blushed. “Or my friend,” he added a little hesitantly.

Helga laughed, letting go. She and Arnold chose not to comment on what Gerald said, though Arnold smiled his knowing half-smile at Gerald before turning and leading the rest of the way to the cave.

* * *

Still in the lead, Arnold stepped cautiously up to the cave entrance. All four kids strained their ears for any noise, but it was quiet, all things considered. He was a little concerned that anyone looking up toward this mountain could probably see them. None of them had taken that into consideration – how exposed they were as they crept up to the cave.

“I would think we would hear _something_ if someone was up here,” Helga muttered in a frustrated tone.

Arnold agreed. The silence unnerved him.

The opening to the cave was irregular, but large. Gripping the spear in his hand, he slowly eased his head around the edge of the entrance and looked inside. He didn’t see anything, or anyone, at first, and took a breath, only now realizing he had been holding it.

“What do you see?” Helga whispered from behind him.

“Nothing. Wait…” Arnold said, stepping further into the entrance and looking around. “There’s no one here,” he told his friends in a louder voice. “But there’s a lot of stuff.”

Arnold stepped in further, followed by Helga, Phoebe, and Gerald. The four stood just in the entrance and looked around the large cave. Light flooded in from the entrance, illuminating the dozens of crates stacked around the inside. 

“Looks like a storehouse almost,” Helga said.

“And it looks as if it has been recently searched,” Phoebe added, pointing at some of the crates which had been either opened, tipped over, or had items strewn about.

“Well it’s obvious our class isn’t here,” Helga said, disappointed. “I guess we need to go search near that pier. This would be an ideal place to put them. It wouldn’t exactly be easy to escape from here.”

Arnold looked into one of the crates, “There’s…I guess they would be relics or something like that in here. Maybe Green Eyes stuff?”

The other three looked into the crate at which Arnold had stopped. Gerald reached in and picked up a small stone statue. “It does sort of look like the things in the Temple. Only, it’s not anything that looks like you, Arnold.”

Arnold made a face at Gerald as Phoebe and Helga laughed. “They do have other Gods, Gerald. I’m not the only one.”

“You see that ladies,” Gerald drawled, smirking at Helga and Phoebe, “He has fully embraced the whole being a God thing. We really should watch out for those lightning bolts.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Arnold exclaimed as Phoebe and Helga laughed harder.

“Aw look at poor Arnold blush!” Helga teased, her eyes shining as she looked at him. He returned her look with a sheepish smile.

“It’s alright, Arnold,” Gerald assured him. “I feel honored to be the best friend of a God. I mean, it’s a pretty awesome thing to brag about.”

Arnold finally laughed, though his cheeks were still flushed. “Very funny, Gerald.”

* * *

“Arnold! These look like newspapers!” Gerald called from the back of the cave.

Arnold hurried over to him, past Phoebe and Helga, who were digging through one of the opened crates. Gerald was sifting through a pile of papers, discarded there in a heap. He had in his hand what did look like two newspapers, but it was the picture on the front of the first one that caused Arnold to grab it in excitement.

It was their class, a picture of them taken about a week after they found out about the contest. It had been used for press releases in their hometown, but Arnold had no idea that it was news anywhere but in Hillwood. “Helga said La Sombra said he saw it on the news, but I had no idea it meant this.”

“It makes sense though, if you think about it,” Gerald reasoned. “I imagine San Lorenzo being a prize in a contest had to be big news to this area.”

Arnold nodded and looked at the title of the paper. _“La Nacion,”_ he murmured and then noticed that the words ‘San Jose’ were listed at the bottom. “This must be the newspaper of San Jose. La Sombra must have seen it there.”

He looked again at the class picture and the headline above it. He couldn’t read it, it was all in Spanish. “Hey Helga!” he called.

“What?”

“Can you interpret this?” he asked, waving the newspaper when she looked up at him.

Helga and Phoebe came over to the boys and sat down on the floor of the cave next to them. Arnold handed her the newspaper and she looked at it. “Wow, that’s us! Who knew we made international news!”

“What does the article say?” Gerald asked.

They were all silent as Helga read the paper, frowning as she opened the paper to look at another page. When she finally closed it and looked up, she did not look happy.

“Well?” Arnold asked.

The girl sighed. “It appears this paper took more liberties with the story of our trip here than our local paper back home. This reporter actually did some digging. It starts out about the essay and winning the trip, but most of it is about you and your parents.”

“It is?”

Helga nodded. “Apparently your parents’ disappearance was big news back when it happened. The fact that you were born here and that you were going to come back is the whole focus of most of this article. It hints that you wrote the essay and won the trip in order to search for your parents.” She opened the paper again to the inside. “See? It has a picture of your parents and tells their story here,” she said, resting the paper on her lap and pointing.

“I had no idea,” Arnold said faintly, looking at Phoebe and Gerald.

“Well that explains how La Sombra knew who you were,” Gerald said.

“And the connection to your parents,” Phoebe added. “If he knows anything about them, or where they are, then he must think he can use you to make them do what he wants. Maybe they did steal El Corazon back from him, and he wants to use you to make them give it back.”

“But if he knows where they are, or how to find them, why haven’t they come back on their own?” Arnold asked frowning.

Helga looked at him, knowing the meaning behind the question from their talk the previous night. “They may not be able to, Arnold,” she said as gently as she could. “We don’t know anything yet.”

* * *

Phoebe was at the entrance to the cave as the other three looked through the already opened crates. “Hey guys,” she said in a quiet, but strained toned.

They all looked at her. “What’s up Pheebs?” Helga asked.

“I think someone is coming towards this cave. I can hear something moving on the path. They are not being quiet and are coming up fast!” She backed away from the entrance, frightened, and moved closer to Gerald.

All four looked at each other, hesitating for a moment. “It could be La Sombra. Or his men,” Arnold said.

Gerald ran over to grab his spear and Phoebe’s spar from where they had dropped their gear when they came in. He threw the pole to Phoebe, who caught it. Helga drew her knife from its’ sheath, looking at Arnold. “Grab your spear. It looks like we’re not being taken without a fight.”

Arnold followed her directions, but he had to admit he was scared. He couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Helga and his friends. He wished there was time to hide them or something, but he knew that was impossible, even if there were some place to hide them. 

All of them now could hear the footsteps coming closer. Phoebe was right. Whomever it was wasn’t trying to sneak up on them. The four stood side by side between the crates and the entrance, brandishing their weapon of choice and facing whatever was coming at them, all with determined expressions on their faces. Arnold glanced quickly at Helga, who returned his look steadily, then suddenly smiled at him. He couldn’t let anything happen to her – not after her almost-fall earlier, when his heart stopped, thinking he had lost her. 

They both looked quickly at the entrance when two figures appeared. Two dark figures they couldn’t see in the glare from the afternoon sun outside. 

“Don’t come any closer!” Arnold heard Helga growl, even as he and Gerald stepped slightly forward in front of the girls.

“Arnold?”

The voice was soft and feminine, a surprise to all of the kids, but it wasn’t enough for them to lower their weapons, even as the two moved closer.

“I mean it, lady!” Helga yelled.

“Is it really you, Arnold?” a deeper male voice said, and the two finally entered far enough into the cave where the kids could see who they were.

Nothing was said for a few minutes as Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe, and Helga stared at the pair, all open-mouthed in surprise. Arnold dropped his spear as he said, “Mom? Dad?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a dozen ideas of introducing Stella and Miles back into Arnold's life, and I hope this one makes sense and will be satisfying to my readers. Their story comes in the next chapter and I also hope that is satisfying. And yay for Gerald and Helga admitting they are friends. Finally.


	27. He's Never Been Up Against Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold finally gets some answers.

**Chapter 27 - He's Never Been Up Against Us**

No one said anything for what seemed an eternity for all of them. The four kids stared at the couple at the entrance to the cave, and the couple stared back, their eyes fixed on Arnold. Phoebe, Gerald, and Helga all lowered their weapons. The man put his hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Son?” he finally asked.

Arnold slowly nodded, barely breathing. Phoebe and Helga moved closer together, putting their arms around each other. Gerald tore his eyes away from Arnold’s parents to look at his best friend. “Arnold…” he said softly.

As if Gerald’s voice broke the spell, Arnold and his parents all gave a small cry as Arnold ran to throw himself into their arms, knocking them all to their knees as Stella and Miles held onto Arnold tightly, crying over him. Arnold could barely breathe, but he couldn’t have pulled himself out of their arms for anything. Sobs heaved themselves from him, all the pent up emotion of missing his parents came out then – all the worry over whether or not they were even alive, the wondering for years, the heartache, the empty space in his life – all of it came out in his tears.

Helga blinked away her own tears, her heart full of happiness for this boy who had been the focus of her entire life. She tightened her hold on Phoebe, who dropped her pole to the ground so she could wipe away her own tears. Gerald joined them, standing behind the girls and hugging them both. “I can’t believe we did it,” he said in a whisper. The three then silently watched the reunion, not even wanting to breathe and interrupt this special moment.

After several minutes, Miles and Stella let go enough to pull back and look at Arnold. Stella’s hands cradled his cheeks as she looked at him. “Oh honey, I can’t believe you’re here!” she cried, then kissed him all over his face before hugging him tightly again.

“I can’t believe I found you!” Arnold said, his voice muffled and strained from his tears. “Why haven’t you come home to me?”

Stella turned her head to look at Miles, her eyes sad. “Son, we tried…” Miles began.

Arnold pushed himself from his mother, sitting back on his heels so he could look at them. “Tried? Tried! It’s been eight years! You couldn’t come home sooner? You couldn’t even let us know you were alive and alright?” His tone became hysterical.

“Arnold…” Gerald said soothingly, stepping around the girls and moving closer to Arnold.

“No Gerald! I need answers!” Arnold cried, standing up and side-stepping his friend. He found himself next to Helga, who he glanced at. She let go of Phoebe as she returned his look and put her hand on his arm, just above the bow she tied there earlier in the day. Her look and her touch calmed him. He stared into her eyes, seeing her sympathy and, surprisingly, a flash of empathetic anger. He reached with his other hand and covered hers on his arm, returning his eyes to his parents.

His parents seemed to be at a loss of what to say as they slowly got to their feet. “We did try Arnold,” his mother answered quietly. “We’ve been stuck here with no way out. I was sick. We were lost…” Stella held her hands up helplessly. “I can understand your anger. Believe me, we understand. It’s just such a long story.”

“We’ve got time,” Arnold answered shortly.

Miles and Stella looked at each other again, and it was now that Arnold noticed how his parents looked. Thin and tired. Their clothes, which were ill-fitting, were stained and torn in places. In fact, his mother had on what looked like men’s clothes, similar to what La Sombra’s men wore. Her hair was pulled back, but it looked long, ragged, and dirty. His father’s hair was also long, shaggy, and matted and he had a fairly long and dirty beard. “First,” Miles said looking back at Arnold, “don’t think that because we haven’t come home, or that we haven’t sent a message, that we don’t love you. Not a day, not a minute, has gone by that we haven’t both missed you and thought about you. We’ve tried for eight years to come home to you.”

“You couldn’t in eight years? You’re adventurers! Your journal is full of narrow escapes! In eight years you couldn’t?”

“The first few years were full of sickness Arnold,” Stella replied. “It took us well over a year to cure the Green Eyes. Over a year to gain their trust to show us to their secret city, which is a great distance from here.” She rubbed at her eyes. “You can’t imagine what we saw. So many people died…” her voice trailed off as Miles put his arm around her shoulders.

“Let’s start from the beginning,” Miles suggested after a moment. “And we might as well get comfortable.” He looked around, shrugging, “At least as comfortable as we can get.” He and Stella sat on the ground and the four kids slowly followed suit, sitting in a semi-circle in front of the older couple. Helga had to gently pull at Arnold’s arm to get him to relax enough to sit. He held her hand in both of his on his lap as he sat cross-legged with his eyes intently on his parents.

“It took a long time for Stella to develop a cure for the sickness that was slowly killing off the Green Eyes. Almost six months or so?” he asked, looking at his wife, who nodded. “We knew that the one village hit the hardest was too far away to hike to, so we decided to fly. Our plane crashed,” Miles said, sighing. “We were fine. We ejected before it hit the ground, but we had no idea where we were. We got caught in a storm and blown way off course.” Miles explained they landed apart from each other and were lucky enough to find each other after a few days. Once they had, they wandered around the jungle with their gear for a long time, not knowing if they were even heading in the right direction.

“It was by chance we came across a hidden altar in a small glade that we recognized as a Green Eye monument,” Stella continued. “I left a small offering of the medicine there and it was gone the next day. We hoped that we earned their trust, so we actually sat on the altar and waited. We waited for four days before someone came.”

“We couldn’t communicate. They speak a strange dialect that is…almost Spanish, but not,” Miles said. “They did take us to their village, though, and we finally were able to help them. There were only a few dozen people in the village and the majority of them were sick, but Stella worked with their Shaman and soon had everyone up on their feet.”

“I was so relieved. We knew they were a peaceful people, but we didn’t want to anger them,” Stella added. She kept her eyes on Arnold and Helga could tell she wanted to hold him in the worst way. “We were there for a long time. While the medicine worked, the recovery time was long and they wouldn’t let us go so we could help others.”

“In the meantime, I tried to learn to communicate with them and I picked up a rudimentary knowledge of their language. I’m much more fluent now,” Miles said, then nodded at Stella, “we both are, but at first it was difficult. I couldn’t figure out which village we were in, and they didn’t have conventional naming set up for their villages. It was just the ‘village’. In their language of course. The most I could get as an identifier is that they called their village the “riverside village”.” Miles shrugged. “I had nothing like that on the map I had drawn – we were in the unchartered territory apparently. Heck, we could have been in Nicaragua for all I knew.”

“So it was about a year after we first left Hillwood that we actually got to other villages. We realized we were far from San Lorenzo – almost to Nicaragua. And no,” Miles paused, “no modern sort of place to get in touch with anyone. We knew we worried everyone – Mom and Dad, Eduardo. We just had no way to contact anyone. And no time. We wanted to get the cure to as many of the Green Eyes as we could so we spent much of that next year traveling.”

“But, Dad…” and here Arnold stumbled over the word, not used to using it. He was grateful for the reassuring pressure of Helga’s hand in both of his. “Eight years…”

“Believe me, I know, Arnold. Don’t think we haven’t tried,” Miles said, looking frustrated.

“I got the sickness, Arnold,” his mother added quietly. “And it hit me harder than the Green Eyes. I think because they have a certain level of resistance to the disease. We didn’t.”

“Your mother almost died, son, and she was sick for a very long time.”

“I don’t even know how long. The medicine I made for the Green Eyes helped, but didn’t cure me completely. I had to wait until I felt strong enough to adjust it for myself. And that took a long time.”

Arnold looked down at his hands, still holding Helga’s hand. He moved his fingers over hers for a moment before saying in a small voice, “I didn’t know.”

“When I felt cured, it still took a long time for me to recover. I had lost weight, I was weak, I could hardly walk. It was another few months before I could walk from one end of the village to the other. Your father wouldn’t leave my side, though I kept urging him to go find help,” Stella continued.

“I honestly didn’t think much time had passed, but when your mother felt better, I realized we’d been gone from Hillwood a little over three years,” Miles said.

The four kids silently listened and Arnold still looked down at his lap.

“We were finally able to get the Green Eyes to understand where we needed to go, but they took us instead to their hidden city. We were upset, of course. We wanted to come home, or at least find some way to get a message to Eduardo to let Mom and Dad know we were alright,” Miles kept going with the story. “But they were insistent and we didn’t know exactly where we were. Stella was still too weak to walk for a long distance. She was able to manage short hikes, but I knew we were far away from anywhere. The Green Eyes live in complete isolation.”

“They wanted us to see El Corazon,” Stella said, causing the hairs on the back of Arnold’s neck to stand up. El Corazon was in his backpack right now. He had taken it off because it kept distracting his thoughts and emotions. He needed to concentrate on finding his class, not the feelings of his heart. He felt, more than saw, Helga looking at him at the mention of the relic and he felt her fingers tighten around his. 

“We begged them to get a message to Eduardo if they wouldn’t let us go. Their Shaman kept repeating ‘all in good time’, and that there was this prophecy about us. Me, your mom, you,” Miles said. Then his eyes widened, looking at Helga, Gerald, and Phoebe as if for the first time. “And you three as well…” he added, his voice trailing off.

All four pairs of eyes focused on Stella and Miles.

“A-a prophecy?” Phoebe squeaked out. “About us?”

Miles nodded slowly. “Three companions, isn’t that what it said?” he asked Stella.

Stella said in a quiet voice. “Companions to the God of Peace.”

The four looked at each other, all with confused expressions. “I don’t understand,” Arnold said.

“You’re the God of Peace, at least according to the Green Eyes,” Stella answered. “They believe when you return, you and your companions will set everything right. Sickness will end, their scattered people will reunite, and their enemy will be defeated. At least that’s what their prophecy predicts.”

“How can I do all that? I’m only a kid?” Arnold gasped.

His father smiled, “No one expects you to do that, Arnold. It’s only the confused ramblings of an old Shaman.”

“I don’t think so,” Helga interjected, surprising both Stella and Miles at her tone. “Hair boy here has El Corazon and that thing…” she paused, suppressing a shudder “…that thing is alive or something.”

“You have El Corazon?” Miles said. “How did you find it? We hid it carefully!”

Arnold nodded. “We found it. Well, Phoebe found the chamber it was in. Helga and I found it. I was wearing it, but it made me feel strange, so I put it in my backpack.”

“You looked at it? You touched it?” His father sounded upset.

“He’s their god, isn’t he?” Helga snapped. “Of course he did!”

“Arnold, you shouldn’t have,” his father said, distressed.

“Honey, it’s alright. Arnold is fine,” Stella murmured, her eyes still fixed steadily on Arnold. 

“Let’s get back to the story,” Helga said, still irritated for Arnold’s sake. “There’s still quite a few years missing.”

“There isn’t much to tell,” Miles admitted. “We stayed with the Green Eyes. We would try every few months to get back to San Lorenzo, but we couldn’t. I don’t know how, but every time we tried, La Sombra would stop us. He’s caught us many times – that’s why we’re pretty familiar with this island. He’s kept us here a few times, but we’ve always managed to escape.”

“How could you get off the island?” Arnold asked.

“When we’d come, it was usually with a friend of ours, a young Green Eye name Tik-ul. He would never get caught,” Miles said. “You can’t imagine how good these people are at being invisible. He would help us escape.”

“Where is he now?”

Miles shook his head, “We’re not sure. We came here at the urging of the Chief and the Shaman. They said we would find what we were seeking here on this island, but we had no idea what they meant. Their Shaman said El Corazon was calling to him. We needed to go.”

“I don’t understand,” said Helga.

“I don’t either,” Miles admitted. “We were getting set to leave a few months before that, but their Shaman warned us against it. We didn’t want to listen, but he was so insistent. He kept saying what we sought would come to us. El Corazon was awakening again.” He looked at Stella, “We honestly didn’t believe any of it. We hid the amulet a few years ago and we thought it would be safe, so we convinced their chief to give us a canoe and we planned on trying to reach San Lorenzo with the help of friends we made in the village. But the Shaman would not let us go.”

“His mate was pregnant and having a difficult time. He wanted my help,” Stella said. “She had the baby early, very early, and both her and the child were in a lot of danger. They got past the danger, but it took up a lot of my time. We then went to leave again and he stopped us. He told us what we wanted was here. El Corazon told him the God had returned. We knew they thought of Arnold that way, but we couldn’t believe it. How could Arnold be here?”

“We figured they wanted El Corazon back, so I offered to retrieve it if they would let us go once we had,” Miles continued. “The Green Eyes were very complacent about it, which confused us. It was their most precious object. They just assured us it had been asleep, whatever that meant, and that now it was awake and would find its’ way home.”

“Anyway, we came here to get El Corazon, but La Sombra found us instead. We’ve been held by him for almost a year,” Miles added.

“A year?” Arnold asked, turning pale. No wonder his parents looked so rough. He imagined that La Sombra wouldn’t have gone to great lengths to keep the couple healthy and fed. 

Stella nodded. “We only escaped last night. La Sombra’s looking for us all over the island.” She looked at Miles for a moment. “We found out you were here from your class…”

“Our class is here?” Gerald interrupted.

“Well yes, La Sombra brought them to the island the other day,” Stella answered. “We weren’t able to talk to any of them, but we heard La Sombra raging at someone in the other cells. He kept yelling Arnold’s name. That’s how we knew you were here. We were both shocked. We had no idea.”

“We escaped from him,” Phoebe said. “I am sure that has angered him. I do hope he did nothing to our class,” she added anxiously.

“I don’t think he did,” Miles said. “But who can tell? He can be vicious when he wants to be, and I can’t imagine that he wants to feed a big group like that.”

“What does that mean?” Helga demanded.

“We should rescue your class before there’s some…accident…” Stella said softly.

“How did you know we were here?” Arnold asked.

“We saw you climbing up here,” Miles said. “It’s a miracle La Sombra didn’t see you. At least I hope he hasn’t.” Miles smiled at the four kids. “We couldn’t believe we actually saw you up there. We had no idea how you could have gotten on this island, but we knew we had to get up here as fast as we could.”

* * *

Phoebe, Gerald, and Helga drew off to the side to allow Arnold some alone time with his parents. The three huddled together, talking in low voices near the back of the cave. 

“I imagine there’s a lot to catch up on,” Helga said, standing and going over to the cave entrance to peer out. “But we can’t stay here too long. It’s getting dark and probably a good time to see if we can get our class out.”

“Once we get them out, then what?” Phoebe asked. “We are still stuck on this island.”

“I don’t think I can get that boat going again,” Gerald said. “I was barely able to steer it.”

“Maybe Eduardo or Arnold’s dad know how to operate it,” Helga suggested.

“That’s if it can still float. We don’t know what kind of damage has been done,” Gerald reminded her.

Helga sighed, frustrated. “We can’t just leave them there, though. Look how Arnold’s parents look. You heard what she suggested. We can’t let that happen to our class. The longer we stay here, the higher the risk of La Sombra catching us. I’m surprised we haven’t been caught again.”

“True,” Phoebe agreed. “We may need to take La Sombra out.”

Gerald and Helga looked at Phoebe blankly. “Take him out, Pheebs?” Helga asked. “That’s a little extreme coming from you.”

“You heard Arnold’s parents, Helga,” Phoebe explained. “They have been trying for years to get away from him and back to San Lorenzo. How are we going to manage it, if they cannot in all that time?”

“But how are we going to take him out, Pheebs? We’re just kids,” Gerald said.

“We need a plan. And we are not ‘just kids’. Look at what we have already accomplished. We also have all of our class, once we free them – and the adults. There must be something we can do when we all work together.”

Helga looked over at Arnold, blissfully talking to his parents. “We’ll see what they have to say about it. They know more about La Sombra than we do.”

* * *

Arnold didn’t even know where to start. He had almost his whole lifetime to tell his parents, just as much as he wanted to hear their stories. He knew there wasn’t time, but he was so excited and happy. The fact that his parents were here, now, in front of him – smiling at him, holding him, hugging and kissing him every few minutes – drove everything else from his mind. He thought no longer of his friends, standing and talking quietly near the cave entrance; his class waiting for them to come back; the Green Eyes; San Lorenzo. He just kept tumbling words out, thrilling each time he heard his mom or his dad answer him. 

Miles and Stella were equally enthralled with their son. Mentally they had imagined him growing into a young man, but had no idea what he would look like or sound like. No idea what his personality was. It was like meeting a stranger, but a stranger that you loved more than anything in the world. Arnold at least felt he knew his parents somewhat, from the journal and the stories his grandparents told him, but Miles and Stella had no way to know what Arnold was like. They were happy to see that he was obviously an intelligent and kind-hearted boy, whose friends obviously cared as much about him as he did about them. 

Arnold was mainly explaining how he had ended up in San Lorenzo, and how he had ended up on this trek to find them – as well as all the things he and his friends went through the past few days. For a kid who had never really been outside of the city, they were impressed at how far he had gotten and some of the scrapes he managed to escape from – all of it seemingly with the help of the blond girl standing with her arms crossed over her chest and scowling at whatever the black haired girl was saying.

Stella studied Helga as she listened to Arnold. This was the girl that wrote the essay that won the trip and Arnold mentioned she had done it to get him down here. He didn’t say it outright, but Stella noticed the way his voice changed when he talked about her. Her son had a serious crush on the girl and she wondered if it was one-sided. He did hold the girls hand when Stella and Miles told their story. Helga let him, and Helga did win the essay for him, so it couldn’t be one-sided. The girl just looked…angry...was the word that came to her mind.

“Arnold,” Stella said, her eyes looking at Gerald, Phoebe, and Helga each in turn. “You haven’t introduced us to your friends.”

Arnold’s eyes widened as he looked to his friends. He caught Gerald’s attention and waved them over. “I’m sorry, Mom. Dad. These are my closest friends at school. Gerald, Phoebe, and Helga. We’ve grown up together. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Stella and Miles smiled at the other three kids, but it was Phoebe that spoke up, her high pitched voice sounding very firm. “It is getting dark. We need to rescue or class and we think we should take out La Sombra once and for all.”

“Take him out?” Miles asked blankly.

“Yes. That is the only way we can get us and our class away safely and back to San Lorenzo. We need some sort of plan.”

“We’ve tried before. We’ve never been able to overpower him. He’s too sneaky, too powerful, he has too many men…” Stella trailed off.

“He’s never been up against us,” Helga declared, her eyes flashing.


	28. I Don't Think So, Bucko

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold, his parents, and his friends make a plan to rescue the class.

**Chapter 28 - I Don't Think So, Bucko**

Arnold, his parents, and his friends moved quietly down a little used path in the jungle. They went slow, as the darkness of night had swallowed the island. The full moon from the previous night was waning, but still bright enough to help see, but it wasn’t easy for Miles to make out the trail, and it was just as difficult for the others to follow him.

They had discussed their rescue mission in detail. All knew the part they had to play and all were ready to jump in and take care of it. The class needed them and Arnold felt a certain level of responsibility to his teacher, his classmates, and their chaperones. His friends volunteered to help him find his parents and he had put them in danger. He felt he needed to be the one to get them out of it.

Their plan was fairly simple. Stella and Miles said there were two entrances to the cave system. Both were, of course, guarded, but the secondary entrance, which led to a narrow passage, usually only had one guard who the Shortmans thought could be easily overpowered by the six of them. Once in, there were two possible scenarios. The cells might be guarded, or they might not. The prisoners were held in what could roughly be called jail cells, though they were really just hollows in the cave barred off with wooden poles in a sort of hand built jail. Stella said it was generally easy to break out of the cells, if the guards weren’t around.

Once the guards at the entrance were taken out, they would go in and either take out any other guards or release the class. Either way, Miles hoped to find out if La Sombra was still on the island. If he was, they hoped their class would be able to help deal with him. If he was gone, Miles was fairly sure there would still be a boat at the pier that he was confident he and Eduardo could get working in order to get to San Lorenzo. El Corazon would be dealt with later.

The kids re-armed themselves, but Stella and Miles had no weapons. Instead, they each picked up a short branch to use as a sort of club. Their weapons did make them all a little nervous, as they were going up against a group of rough men who all had guns.

Stella told them that the amount of men La Sombra had on the island fluctuated. He often sent his men out on various missions, so there would sometimes only be a few left behind. Other times most of his men were there. “Some have been around for as long as we’ve been aware of La Sombra. I’m sure some are in jail or dead. We’re pretty sure he recruits too, so it’s hard to say the numbers. We saw at least a half dozen of his men over the last week,” Stella said as they sat making plans.

Miles had described the cave system to the kids. “There are three caves at the base of this mountain,” Miles explained. “La Sombra has, I guess you could call it living quarters, in one. One has supplies and is where his men usually stay when they’re here. The other is a narrow and long cave where he has kept us when he’s caught us. We weren’t always alone, either. There would occasionally be others. What happened to them?” Miles asked, shrugging. “I don’t know. They’d usually disappear and no one would tell us what happened to them.” He frowned at the memory.

“La Sombra would just…kill them?” Phoebe squeaked.

Miles and Stella looked at each other a long moment. “We don’t know for sure,” Miles answered slowly. “But that honestly would be my best guess. I don’t know why these men were prisoners. We weren’t held together and we couldn’t really talk to them. I think they were associates who double crossed La Sombra.”

“But he never killed you,” Helga stated bluntly.

Stella shook her head. “He knew that we knew where the lost city is. He had El Corazon for a while, and he wanted more. He’s convinced the Green Eyes are in possession of a lot of gold.”

“Are they?”

“No. At least, not that we’ve ever seen. Not excessive anyway. They do have jewelry made from gold and silver, of course, but not to the extent that La Sombra is convinced that they do. We’ve told him over and over he’s mistaken, but he thinks we’re lying to keep him from the tribe,” Stella answered. “Most of the valuable items the Green Eyes have is jade, but that’s not as valuable to La Sombra as the gold he thinks is there.”

* * *

They hoped the darkness would cover their approach to the second cave entrance, and that La Sombra and some of his men were asleep or gone. They all tried to move quietly, but they couldn’t avoid some noise, and they would all stop cold when one of them made some particularly loud noise.

Helga followed behind Stella and Arnold, her mind a complete mess of confusion. On one hand, she was happy he found his parents. Every time she caught the look on his face – which was ecstatic even with the seriousness of their current mission – she felt her heart fill with happiness, which she welcomed after the emptiness she felt earlier from El Corazon. The mere thought of that experience made her shiver. On the other hand, though, she felt apprehensive. Not so much at their mission, but at what finding his parents actually meant. Obviously he would now be completely focused on getting to know them again and would have little time for her. Then again, she sternly told herself, wasn’t she the model of patience? She had already waited seven years, she could wait a little longer.

Miles stopped, holding up a hand and then turned to face the others. “We are pretty close,” he whispered. “Let me get closer and I’ll signal when you can approach. I want to see how he’s positioned and if we can surprise him.”

They all silently nodded and Miles disappeared, melting into the dark jungle without a sound. Stella had her arm around Arnold’s shoulders and he kept looking up at her in disbelief, receiving a gentle smile from her in return. None of them spoke to each other, they all thought nothing needed to be said and they were all tense with their mission.

After about ten minutes, Miles returned, startling them all, though they were expecting him. They huddled close together while he told them he found only one guard, who seemed half-asleep and wasn’t paying much attention to anything. “We should be able to take him out pretty easily. I will circle to one side of him, Stella, you go to the other side. You kids can wait here until we come back.”

“I don’t think so, bucko,” Helga said. “You aren’t leaving us behind and you need our help anyway. We can distract the guard while you two sneak up and knock him out.”

“That’s too dangerous,” Miles protested. “He has a gun. What if he shoots at you?”

Helga shrugged. “So knock him out before he does.”

Miles looked at his son and the other kids and they all seemed determined. Stella put her hand on his arm, “It will be alright, Miles.”

“We should be able to distract the guard without putting ourselves at risk,” Phoebe said. “We can do it in a way that he should not be able to see us. I would think he would not shoot blindly into the jungle if he should hear a noise.”

“You wouldn’t think so,” Stella agreed.

“There’s no time to argue,” Helga stated. “Our class needs us NOW!”

She was right, and Miles knew it. He gave up arguing and signaled to his wife. She and the kids all followed him. At a certain point in the path, he gestured to Stella and indicated the way she should go, and then pointed in a different way to the kids. “Just don’t do anything dangerous,” he whispered in a barely audible voice.

There was a soft snort from Helga in response before they all split up.

The plan worked perfectly. The kids hid among the dark trees in front of the entrance. Gerald walked back and forth, deliberately making noise that he hoped sounded like a wild animal – enough to draw the attention of the guard, but not enough to scare him into shooting. It worked. The guard advanced slowly, his gun gripped firmly in his hands, but not in a position to fire. Arnold, Phoebe and Helga held their breath as the man stepped closer until suddenly both Stella and Miles were there, jumping at him from each side. Miles struck him on the back of the head with the short, thick branch he had picked up. The man fell, Stella’s arms raised to strike if he moved. He didn’t.

The kids came forward and they all looked at each other, all sort of surprised it had worked so easily. “Shall we take his gun?” Miles asked.

Stella leaned down and picked it up. “We might as well,” she answered. “Just as a last resort. I certainly don’t want to use it, but,” and she looked at Arnold and said grimly, “I will.”

* * *

Arnold and his friends understood the reason for having only one guard at this secondary exit. The passage into the cave system was narrow and difficult to pass through, even for the smaller kids. Miles and Stella especially had a hard time squeezing through some parts of the narrow inlet. None of them emerged into the wider area without scrapes on their arms and legs and rips in their clothing.

Miles crept ahead to see how the prison cells were guarded and soon returned. He wore a frown as he scratched his head. “There’s no one there,” he said in a quiet voice. “I mean no guards. I don’t like it.”

“It could be a trap,” Gerald suggested.

Stella nodded, “True, but we have to see if we can get them out. It’s fairly easy to get out of the cells. They're just poles lashed together with rope. We should be able to cut them with that knife.”

Helga gripped the knife firmly. “Let’s get this done.”

The passage widened and Miles had described the area accurately. There were four hollows along the wall, three on one side and one on the other and were spaced fairly far apart. Enough space between them where occupants of one cell would not be able to see or talk to the others. They approached the first and Miles peered into it, whispering a hello hoping if anyone was in there he wouldn’t startle them into shouting or yelling anything.

“Is someone there?” a stressed whisper sounded through the quiet.

“Shh…yes. We’re here to get you out,” Miles replied.

“Oh thank heavens!” and Mr. Simmons appeared at the bars, gripping them in his fingers. He looked curiously at Miles and Stella, then noticed his students standing behind the couple. The four crowded to the bars, happy to see their teacher. Mr. Simmons dropped to his knees, reaching out to them, “Oh my special students! I was so worried!”

They all hugged Mr. Simmons through the bars, then looked beyond him where they could see Sid, Stinky, Rhonda, Harold, and Eduardo. Eduardo rushed to the bars next to Mr. Simmons, extending his hands out to Miles and Stella, who in turn also tried to embrace him through the bars. Their friends came to stand by Mr. Simmons, excited to see the missing four. All had been worried about what happened to Arnold, Helga, Gerald, and Phoebe and were thrilled to see them again.

“Shhhhh,” Helga hissed. “We’re excited to see you too, but we can’t let them know we’re here.” She looked over the ropes that held the poles together and stepped aside to begin sawing at one of the lashings. “Thank goodness this stupid knife is sharp.”

Everyone watched her silently, holding their breath as she cut through, except for Miles who went over to one of the other cells to peer in and let the inmates know they were here and would get them out soon. Stella explained to Eduardo, Mr. Simmons and the kids in his cell what their plan was. To get to the pier and to the boat they hoped would be there. Mr. Simmons asked the kids if they knew what had happened to Mr. Jay and Senorita Valdez and Arnold told him the last time they had all seen the pair was before La Sombra ambushed them.

Helga grumbled to herself as she sawed away at the ropes. They were tough and old and difficult to cut through, but she made slow progress. Gerald and Arnold moved away toward the other cell where Miles stood talking to Mr. Collins, informing him of the plan. The two boys kept an eye toward the main entrance to this cave in case someone were to come.

“I cannot understand this. You would think La Sombra would have these caves more heavily guarded,” Phoebe said nervously to Helga, who managed to finally cut through the ropes holding two of the poles together. She started on another set she hoped would allows enough of a space, once the poles were removed, for the inmates to squeeze through.

“We had guards here earlier. They all left. They didn’t say why, of course,” Rhonda said.

“Were you treated poorly?” Phoebe asked.

“Sort of. They haven’t been nice to us and we haven’t really eaten since we got here,” Sid answered. “Where have you guys been?”

“All over. We were captured once, but we escaped,” Phoebe told him.

The next rope fell away and Helga tugged at the poles until they were freed. “We can tell you the story later. You guys get out while I go work on the other cell.”

Mr. Collins and the rest of their class were in the other cell. Phoebe helped Mr. Simmons and the ones in his cell out. In the meantime, Miles returned from the front of the cave and he looked troubled. “There’s no one there. No guards or anything. I don’t like this at all.”

“I’ve never seen this place unguarded like this,” Stella said, also frowning. 

“I’ll go with Eduardo to see about the boat. Will you be ok here?” Miles asked.

Stella nodded, “We should be fine.”

With a tense nod, Miles and Eduardo left the cavern. Helga made progress on the second cell, muttering under her breath at how slow it was going. The poles from the other jail cell that Helga had pulled apart were now in the hands of Sid, Stinky and Harold. 

Helga had just yanked a pole from Mr. Collins’ cell when Miles came back in, saying the boat was still at the pier, but he didn’t see La Sombra or any of his men. It was evident he was nervous, but decided to take Gerald, Phoebe, Sid, Stinky and Harold to the boat and get them safely on. He told Stella to follow with the others as soon as they were free.

The kids followed him out. Arnold stood next to Helga watching her, mentally urging her to go faster, but knowing that she was going as fast as she could. The tension in the cave was extreme and Stella kept pacing back and forth from the cells to the cave entrance.

“Let’s go!” Helga finally cried, pulling at the wooden bars. Arnold grabbed at them too and they pulled together. They broke, sending both of them falling back on their butts, but Mr. Collins and the rest of the class were able to get out. They all grabbed the broken bits of the bars to follow Stella out of the cave.

“That’s far enough,” a voice growled from the dark entrance, causing them all to stop in their tracks.

Two of the guards stood at the entrance, blocking their exit. 


	29. Touch Him and You'll Deal With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A confrontation with the enemy!

**Chapter 29 - Touch Him and You'll Deal With Me**

“Get out of our way,” Stella growled at the two guards as she cocked the gun she had taken earlier. “Let us go. This is over.”

Both of the men laughed. “Turn around, perra,” one of them demanded. “Drop the gun and go back to your cell. The others are already caught.”

Arnold felt his heart stop. Was his father alright? His classmates? He was surprised when his mother, however, did not lower her gun. “If you think I’m going to let you hurt these children,” she said, “You’re dumber than I’ve always thought you were.”

“Hijueputa” the other guard snapped as they both advanced toward Stella.

“Stay back!” Stella shouted. Arnold looked at Helga next to him. She returned his look with a set expression of determination, holding up her knife. He nodded, gripping his spear more firmly and saw out of the corner of his eye Brainy, Curly, Nadine, Eugene and Mr. Collins bracing themselves for a fight, holding the poles from the jail cell.

Then, faster than they could imagine she could move, Stella dove forward at the guards toward their feet, tripping them as she rolled on the ground. Startled, but not missing the opportunity, the rest jumped forward. Mr. Collins and Arnold jumped on top of one guard, while Helga and Eugene jumped on the other to pin them down. Nadine and Brainy kicked the guns out of the guards’ hands. Stella got to her feet and stood between the guards, pointing her gun down. “I told you to stay back,” she said angrily. “Get up and get in one of those cells,” she demanded.

Mr. Collins and the kids got up, allowing the two men to grumpily get to their feet and they watched as Stella marched them over to one of the other cells. Once they were secured inside, she tried to get them to tell her where La Sombra was and what happened to the others, but they sat against the opposite wall and ignored her.

Helga looked at Arnold with a grin, “I wouldn’t mess with your mother for anything.”

He laughed, looking at his mother. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ll never be able to get away with anything with her around.”

* * *

They all left the cave and started up the path toward the pier. All held their weapons in readiness, except for Sheena who couldn’t bring herself to grab something. She stayed in the middle of the group, close to Helga, who made her feel safe. This path was a more used path and the moon gave enough light to be able to see clearly, but it was still dark and hard to see to the sides. They kept expecting something to jump out at them any moment.

They made it to the pier and saw the boat was still there, though there was no one there. “Where’s Dad and everyone else?” Arnold asked, his voice stressed.

“I don’t know,” Stella answered in a worried tone, looking around. 

“You don’t have to worry about them,” a voice sneered from behind them. 

Everyone turned, facing La Sombra and four of his men. 

“What did you do with my husband and the others,” Stella demanded.

“They are taken care of,” La Sombra answered, chuckling. 

Arnold saw his mother’s face turn pale in the moonlight, though she kept her angry and determined expression.

“This is over, La Sombra,” she said, lifting her gun.

“Hardly, puta,” he laughed, gesturing to his men. All four trained their guns on Arnold. “One wrong move and that boy is dead. Drop your gun.”

Stella hesitated a moment, then lowered the gun, looking down at Arnold. “Mom, no…”

She shook her head and dropped the gun to the ground. 

“And the rest of you.”

Everyone else dropped whatever they were carrying, looking at each other dejectedly. Helga was the last to drop hers. Arnold heard the knife hit the ground with a thud and he really lost heart then. Helga had been the strong one this entire journey and if she was giving up, he did feel like all was lost.

La Sombra and his men forced them back toward the caves. Arnold tried to think of a way out of this, but there didn’t seem to be. He walked with his mother’s arm around his shoulders and Helga next to him, but he couldn’t catch the blond girls’ eye. She looked angry and frustrated, which he understood. After everything they had been through, it was disappointing to be caught once again.

“Now that I have your son, you will show me the way to the lost city,” La Sombra drawled. “And give me El Corazon. If you don’t, I will kill him. It is as simple as that, puta.”

Stella didn’t answer the pirate, she just tightened her hold on Arnold.

“Touch him and you’ll deal with me,” Helga snapped angrily.

La Sombra just laughed. “I like you, pinche niña,” he said. “You’re a tough one. You honestly think you can do anything to me?”

When he said that, one of his guards suddenly fell to the side with a yell, as if he had tripped. La Sombra swore something in Spanish, but before he could do anything, another guard tripped and fell. The first rolled over and got back to his feet, only to be struck across the face with a pole brandished by Sid, then hit in the back of the head by Harold. Eduardo and two native men dressed in skins appeared from the edge of the trail to engage the other two guards. Miles kicked at La Sombra’s hands, forcing his rifle to fly to the side. 

Arnold heard a cry and saw Sid hurtling back clutching his arm, struck by the second guard who had been tripped, but the boy was caught by Stinky before he could fall. Mr. Collins jumped forward to grab at that man, helped by Eugene, Brainy and Curly. La Sombra dodged a punch from Miles and darted forward, grabbed Arnold’s arm and tried to drag him away from his mother, but she clung to him until La Sombra slashed her across her arm with his hand. He started to pull at a struggling Arnold again, but the next thing he knew, Helga had shoved her knife up to his throat. “Let him go or I’ll kill you!” she snarled. 

With another curse, he let go and ducked back into the jungle growth at the side of the trail and disappeared. Miles and one of the natives dashed after him, leaving the rest of the group with the four guards, who had all been subdued.

“What happened!” Stella cried, turning on Eduardo.

“They attacked us at the boat, my friend,” Eduardo told her. “I feared all was lost, but then these men were there, helping us.” He looked next to him at the native. “The Green Eyes. I do not know how they came to be here, but they were. We were able to overpower the men who attacked us, then realized La Sombra was still at large, so we feared for you and hurried back.”

“Tik-ul?” Stella asked, looking at the Green Eye, who to everyone’s surprise had fallen to his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground in front of Arnold. Arnold looked completely confused and looked between his mother and Eduardo, his mouth open in shock.

“What is he doing?” he gasped.

“You are his God, Arnold,” Stella said softly. “He is kneeling in your presence.”

“Please tell him to get up!” Arnold begged. “I don’t want this!”

“Tik-ul,” Stella said gently, then spoke to him in his language. The man lifted his head to look at her, then slowly got to his feet, showing his reluctance. He and Stella spoke for a few minutes until Stella seemed satisfied. “This is Tik-ul, son of the Chief and a friend of ours from the village where we stayed. Let’s get these goons back to the caves and lock them up,” she decided. “Hopefully Miles can catch La Sombra. We’ll need to be careful, since we don’t know if there are any more of these guys around.”

Stella, Eduardo and Mr. Collins picked up the guns the guards had dropped. One of the guards was out cold, so they made two of the others drag him back to the cave. The kids followed the adults for the short distance. “I don’t see Pheebs or Gerald,” Helga said in a worried tone to Arnold, who walked next to her.

“Eduardo didn’t mention anyone being hurt when they were attacked. I hope they’re ok,” he said, also worried and still a little shaken by Tik-ul’s actions. The Green Eye kept looking over his shoulder at the boy he thought was his God. “I thought you dropped that back there at the boat. I heard it drop,” Arnold said, pointing at the knife in her hand.

She shrugged. “I dropped my flashlight instead and hid the knife. I wasn’t going to be defenseless,” she answered.

He smiled at her, “You continue to amaze me.”

Helga looked away from him a little embarrassed. “Thanks,” she said.

“No, thank you. I really thought you would kill him to protect me.”

“I would have,” she stated matter-of-factly, but they had arrived at the cave before they could say anything else.

* * *

Mr. Collins and Eduardo tied up the hands of La Sombra's men and secured them in the cells as Stella knelt down to examine Sid, who sat on the cave floor holding his arm with Stinky next to him.

"Where are Mr. Simmons, Phoebe and Gerald?" Arnold asked Eduardo.

"I do not know, Arnold. We got separated when we were attacked. I didn't see where they went. The Green Eyes were there and everything got confused for a few minutes. I think your teacher and your friends went after two of the guards when they ran off."

"Where did the Green Eyes come from?" Arnold asked.

Stella answered, "Tik-ul said their Chief sent them. He said that El Corazon called to their Shaman."

"That doesn't make sense," Arnold said. "How can it call to him?"

"We have no idea what El Corazon can do, Arnold," she said, even as she looked over Sid's arm. "The Green Eyes believe that it's alive."

"I don't care how it called them," Helga said. "I'm just glad they showed up."

Eduardo spoke to Tik-ul. Arnold watched wide-eyed, only now remembering that Eduardo had mentioned before that he knew the language. Tik-ul could not take his eyes off of Arnold, now that the excitement had settled down. "Their Chief and their Shaman are waiting on the shore, but he sent a group of their warriors to help us," Eduardo told them.

"I still don't understand how they knew where we were or that they should come," Arnold said.

Eduardo held his hands up helplessly, "He just keeps repeating they were called."

"Ow!" Sid exclaimed as Stella gently prodded at the boys' arm.

"I'm sorry, dear," she said gently, then looked up at the others. "I think he may have a small fracture, and this gash is pretty bad. I need a first aid kit or something."

"Mr. Simmons had one, but I think it was in his backpack," Rhonda answered. "Those guys took all of our things when they captured us."

"It might be in one of the other caves," Helga said. "Let's go look," she said to Arnold.

They both ran out of the prisoner's cave before Stella could object. They could see a faint light shining from an entrance about fifty yards to the left. "Let's try there," Arnold suggested. "It might be where La Sombra lives. I would think he would keep things he stole there." Helga nodded her agreement and they ran toward the other cave, slowing as they neared it to approach cautiously.

It did appear to be La Sombra's personal space, lit faintly by a burning oil lamp near the back of the small cave. No one was there. The area was a mess and it smelled, an old and musty smell that made the two of them crinkle their noses. "How does he live like this?" Helga asked, reaching up to pinch her nose closed. "Ugh I can even taste it."

"I'm sure he doesn't even notice it anymore," Arnold said, poking around a little among the mess. The cave was small, but large enough for one person to inhabit it. It would look larger if it were organized, but there were things all over the floor.

"I don't want to touch anything," Helga said, making a face, which got a laugh out of Arnold.

"Yeah, I'd be careful. Who knows what all is in here," Arnold said. Helga looked over everything without touching. Arnold poked at stuff on the floor with his spear.

"I found some backpacks!" Arnold called over to her and she hurried over and saw that Arnold had found almost a dozen backpacks shoved into the back corner of the cave. They pulled a few out and started going through them and found what they thought was Mr. Simmons' pack after the first five. At least they found the first aid kit he had been carrying.

"Good, let's get this to my mom," Arnold said, standing up with the kit in one hand and his spear in the other. He moved toward the entrance with Helga following. They stopped short when they noticed La Sombra standing there, blocking their way out.

"Ah look, it's my favorite little god and my pinche niña," he said in a flat and dead sounding voice. Arnold and Helga looked at each other with wide eyes as they heard the distinct click of a pistol being cocked.

"Drop those sorry excuses for weapons. Did you think you could actually defeat me with those?" La Sombra asked with a humorless laugh.

Arnold and Helga dropped their weapons and the kit to the ground and put their hands up. In spite all of the danger they had been through, Arnold felt his mortality for the first time, as he looked at an outraged La Sombra, who glared at them with insane-looking eyes and a gun pointed at himself and Helga. His mind raced. Arnold thought of his parents and was happy he had been able to finally find them. He thought of Helga, standing next to him and felt a stab of fear for her and a fresh surge in his heart at how he loved her. He hadn't said it to her. If La Sombra pulled that trigger, he never would.

In spite of the gun, Helga maintained her tough girl pose. "We did, you moron! There's nowhere for you to go! This island is crawling with Green Eyes now and you have no way off! You're finished!"

Arnold couldn't believe she was egging La Sombra on. Didn't she see how angry and unhinged he looked? Didn't she see the gun?

"Pedacito mierda! I am done! I am at the end of my patience!" La Sombra shouted, spit flying from his mouth in his anger. His eyes fixed on Arnold. "You and your parents are constantly taking everything from me! Now I will take everything from you!" His hand moved to the left and he pointed the gun directly at Helga.

"No!" Arnold yelled, jumping in front of her, but was surprised to hear a loud ***thunk*** and see La Sombra pitch forward, face first onto the ground in front of them.


	30. Our God of Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A meeting with the Green Eyes.

**Chapter 30 - Our God of Peace**

Phoebe blinked a few times, staring down at the limp body of La Sombra at her feet, Gerald and Mr. Simmons standing behind her. Helga and Arnold stood staring at the small girl, still half-crouched in a fighting stance, gripping the spar she had taken from the boat tightly in her hands. All of their mouths had dropped open in disbelief.

Phoebe finally lifted her eyes to see Helga and Arnold staring at her. "That is what he gets for trying to hurt my friends," she said grimly, getting Helga to laugh nervously.

"Why did you need me all these years Phoebe?" she asked.

Phoebe frowned, "Because you are my best friend, Helga. Surely you did not think I was your friend only because I thought you could protect me?"

Helga lowered her hands. "I don't think that now. I'm too scared to think any different." She turned her head to look at Gerald, who was still staring wide-eyed at Phoebe. "I wouldn't get any ideas of hurting her, Gerald." She pointed down at the river pirate. "That could be you."

Gerald's mouth closed and he sputtered something inaudibly, while Arnold laughed and Phoebe blushed.

"We need to get him tied up and back to those jail cells. I definitely don't want him able to sneak off if he wakes up," Arnold said.

"I'll go back and see if anyone can help us," Helga volunteered.

"I'll go with you, in case any of his men doubled back," Mr. Simmons offered.

"I will too," Arnold said. "Can you guys keep an eye on him?"

Phoebe and Gerald both nodded, even as Phoebe posed with her pole held menacingly over La Sombra's head. "He is not going anywhere, Arnold. Do not worry about that."

* * *

"What were you thinking jumping in front of me like that?" Helga demanded as they walked back to the other cave with Mr. Simmons, who carried the first aid kit.

"What?" Arnold asked blankly, surprised at her flashing eyes.

"When he pointed that gun, Arnoldo!"

Arnold frowned at her, "I wasn't going to let him hurt you."

"Well you can't just do that!" she exclaimed. "You gave me a heart attack! You just can't put yourself in danger for me!"

He realized he had scared her and her way of dealing with it was an angry lashing out, and he was the nearest person to her, as well as the reason she was so scared. Arnold was touched she cared that much about him. "Yes, I can," he said, calmly but firmly as he looked away from her. "You've put yourself in danger for me a lot of times and if you don't think I care as much about you to do the same, you're mistaken."

Helga's mouth dropped open and she was speechless. Arnold was amused by that, but wouldn't look at her and didn't say anything else the rest of the short walk to the first cave. He just heard Mr. Simmons' soft chuckles behind them.

* * *

Stella gladly accepted the first aid kit and immediately opened it. "Thank you, Mr. Simmons," she said, looking again at Sid's arm. "You'll be ok, dear. It will hurt a little when I clean it, but it will be over quickly," she added, smiling encouragingly at Sid, who just whimpered.

Miles returned to the cave looking frustrated. "I lost La Sombra," he said angrily.

"We found him, Dad," Arnold said. "Or I should say, he found us."

Everyone looked at Arnold, surprised.

"Phoebe knocked him unconscious. He's in his cave," Helga said with a vicious grin. "We need someone to help us get him over here."

Rhonda gaped at Helga. "Phoebe? Little Phoebe knocked him out?"

Helga nodded. "You got it, Princess." She looked at Stinky and Harold, who sat on the cave floor near Stella and Sid. They looked just as shocked. "I wouldn't dream of ever picking on her, you guys."

They both shook their heads. "Surely Helga," Stinky drawled. "I'd never pick on her anyhow!"

"I'd hope not. You'd have to deal with her and with me."

"Where did you say he is, Helga?" Mr. Collins asked. "We can go get him."

Helga glanced at Arnold, who had gone to sit next to his mother to watch her bandage Sid's arm. "This way," she said, leading Mr. Collins and Miles, who beckoned to Tik-ul and the other Green Eye to follow, out of the cave.

They returned with La Sombra, who was still out, dragged by his feet by Miles and Mr. Collins. Helga, Phoebe and Gerald followed behind. La Sombra's hands were tied and he was thrown into one of the cells and soon everyone was back in the main area. Stella finished bandaging the gash on Sid's arm and rigged a sort of sling for him. "I don't think it's a fracture," Stella told Mr. Simmons. "More like a painful sprain. I would get him to a doctor as soon as you can."

Mr. Simmons looked extremely worried, "Can we get back to San Lorenzo quickly? There is a doctor there."

Miles spoke up, "We can go now. I know we're all tired, it's been a long night." He looked around at the group of kids, most of whom were sitting on the cave floor and looked exhausted. "Tik-ul thinks the boat can get us there by the end of the day."

The adults decided to leave the Green Eyes to guard the prisoners. Once they took the boat to return to San Lorenzo, La Sombra and his men virtually had no way off the island. Eduardo would contact the nearest authorities to inform them of the capture of La Sombra and where he was held. Eduardo and Miles left the cave to check on the boat. With a glance at Helga, Gerald, and Phoebe, who all nodded their agreement, Arnold wearily got to his feet, shouldered his backpack, and followed his father, along with his three friends.

The sun was peeking above the canopy and Arnold realized he'd been up at least twenty-four hours. As he quietly walked down the well-used path to the pier, he reflected back on those hours that had completely changed his life. He glanced at the yawning blond girl walking next to him. He had kissed her just yesterday morning, though that seemed like a long time ago. Helga looked at him and smiled sleepily, then blushed as he took her hand. Arnold looked ahead at his father and felt that rush of excitement once again. He had his parents back. In just one day his parents had returned to him and, though he thought it was so cliché, he had gotten the girl.

All six of them were surprised to see more Green Eyes at the pier. A grouping of canoes fanned out next to the boat, all tied to the pier supports. Standing at the beginning of the pier was a tall older man, dressed similar to the other Green Eyes, only in much more regal gear. He wore an elaborate headpiece crowned with the skull of what looked like a deer and decorated with feathers and beadwork. A younger man stood next to him. While younger, he was also dressed in an elaborate outfit and had an aura about him that demanded respect. Six warriors flanked these two important Green Eyes as they watched the approach of the small party.

Miles, Eduardo, and the kids all stopped a few feet in front of the Green Eyes. The warriors all fell to their knees and pressed their foreheads on the ground, as Arnold stepped to his father's side with Helga. The two men in the center also bowed low and the older man spoke to Miles.

"This is Chief Maik-ul," Miles said to the kids, introducing the tall older man. "Tik-ul's father and Chief of the Green Eyes and their lost city. This is their Shaman, Maana-ul. All their Shamans are named that. 'Ul' is a Green Eye word that means leader. 'Maana' means peace. So the Shaman is considered a leader of peace. All Shamans give up their personal identity when chosen for this path," Miles explained. "We lived with Maana-ul and his wife and children."

Miles and Eduardo spoke to the Chief and the Shaman for a good amount of time. Arnold stood there awkwardly, uneasily looking at the warriors who were still on the ground bowing to him. "I wish they'd stop this," he muttered to his friends.

They all looked at him with amused expressions. "You're their God, Arnold," Gerald said. "Just tell them to stop and I'm sure they will."

"Bet you wish you had those thunderbolts now, Arnoldo?" Helga teased.

"Helga," Phoebe contradicted her friend, "it is best not to smite one's own worshipers. A God would not have a following for very long if he were to smite everyone that bowed to him."

"True, Pheebs. Best not smite these guys, Football Head," she advised. "I mean, they seem harmless enough."

Arnold just glared at his friends, "Ok, ok, enough!"

Gerald held up his hands, "Hey the prophecy your parents mentioned said we're your companions. And that you're the God of Peace. You shouldn't glare like that, it doesn't look too peaceful."

Phoebe and Helga giggled as Arnold rolled his eyes. "Very funny, Gerald."

"Just saying."

"We're going to check the boat, Arnold. Don't you four wander off," Miles said to the kids after he finished talking with the Green Eyes.

"Dad, please ask them to get up. I don't like this," Arnold begged.

Miles looked at the kneeling warriors, then grinned at his son. "If you insist, God of Peace." He spoke something to the Shaman, who frowned, but in turn barked something at the men on the ground. They all lifted their heads to look at each other, then up at the Shaman. He repeated himself and the men got slowly to their feet.

Miles and Eduardo boarded the boat, leaving Arnold and his friends standing in front of the small group of Green Eyes. Each side eyed each other, the kids with curious and nervous expressions and the Green Eyes with expressions of awe. The Chief and the Shaman both smiled easily at all four of them as they waited patiently.

When Miles and Eduardo got back on the pier, Miles informed them the boat seemed to be alright and should get them back to San Lorenzo. "I'll go get Stella and the others," Miles decided. "Eduardo, stay here with the kids and the Green Eyes. I'll be right back with everyone." He turned down the path to return to the caves.

The Chief and the Shaman had not moved and continued to smile at Arnold and his friends. Arnold looked at Eduardo. "Can you translate for me?" he asked, surprising the other three.

Eduardo merely nodded, said something to the Chief and Shaman, then looked patiently at Arnold, waiting to begin the translating.

Arnold shrugged his backpack off of his shoulders and opened it. After a moment of digging around, he pulled out El Corazon, still attached to the leather thongs that allowed it to hang around the neck. It glowed a bright green in his hand. The Green Eye warriors all gasped and stepped back away from the glow, but the Chief and Shaman gazed steadily at the amulet.

"I think this belongs to you," Arnold said, dropping his backpack at his feet and holding the sacred relic out to the Shaman as Eduardo translated.

Maana-ul stepped forward, his hand held out palm up. Arnold placed El Corazon onto the Shaman's hand and the holy man's fingers curled around it. He stepped back to the Chief's side and looped the thong around his neck so that the amulet nestled against his chest.

Eduardo translated when the Shaman spoke. "He thanks you, God of Peace, for restoring their most sacred treasure."

Arnold continued, looking between the Chief and the Shaman.

"How did you know that we were here? How did you know where to find us?"

The Shaman answered, "I dreamed you were in trouble, Arnold."

"But how did you know?" Arnold asked.

"El Corazon called to me. Our Gods were in trouble and we came to help."

"Gods?" Arnold asked. "What do you mean Gods? More than one?"

"You and your companions, as prophesied. Our God of Peace," the Chief replied, pointing at Arnold. "Our God of War," and here he pointed at Helga. "Our God of Knowledge," and pointed at Phoebe, and finally, pointing at Gerald, said, "Our God of Friendship. El Corazon let me know to come to your aid, so we are here. This is good, because we have now recovered our most sacred treasure, thanks to you."

"But why didn't El Corazon call to you before?" Arnold asked.

"El Corazon was waiting for you, God of Peace. It has been calling you for years and waiting patiently."

"I don't understand," Arnold admitted.

"It is difficult to understand the ways of the heart, and El Corazon is the heart of everything. Everything that is simple is also complex. That is why it is our most sacred item and why it was so valuable to La Sombra."

"It's just a jewel," Arnold objected. "How can a jewel talk to you?"

"El Corazon is not a jewel. It is a heart. The heart of the Green Eyes. The heart of our people. Your heart, God of Peace. With our God and our heart returned to us, our people will become great again. Peace returns to us through you. El Corazon brought you to us, and with it our people will prosper," the Shaman said.

The words of the Shaman confused not only Arnold, but the other three as well. They all looked at each other, but didn't know what to say.

"I see the confusion in your minds, but do not be troubled. Just know that you have saved our people and the Green Eyes will forever be grateful to you," the Shaman said.

Miles, Stella, and their class appeared on the trail, interrupting the Chief. Arnold and his three friends stepped to the side as their classmates wearily passed them to board the boat. Mr. Simmons and Mr. Collins followed the kids, who all collapsed in the nearest space on the deck to try and find a comfortable spot and position in which to sleep.

"Come, Arnold," Stella said. "The Green Eyes will stay here until the police come. They will make sure La Sombra doesn't escape."

Phoebe and Gerald moved to board the boat. The Chief said his farewells to the Shortmans, bowed deeply to Arnold, then signaled his warriors to follow him to the caves. The Shaman, however, stayed. He said something to Arnold's parents, who looked with a surprised glance at Arnold.

"He wants to speak to you two alone," Stella said slowly. "He requests Eduardo to translate for him. Hurry up dear, we want to get to San Lorenzo." With that, she and Miles stepped up the pier to the boat.

Helga and Arnold looked at each other with worried expressions, then turned to the holy man as they joined their hands.

Eduardo translated, speaking softly enough for just Arnold and Helga's ears. The Shaman spoke earnestly in his language to them.

"El Corazon means 'the heart' in the language of those who came here years ago. We showed it to them and they did not believe in its' magic. It is sacred and a gift from the Gods, and only a God may use it correctly. El Corazon will open your heart and read it. It will show you your future heart as well."

Helga nervously glanced at Arnold with a frown. She didn't like how it had made her feel.

Maanu-ul noticed her expression and smiled. "Sometimes it doesn't show us what we'd like, but it does show us the truth. El Corazon showed you an empty heart, Warrior Goddess," and Helga looked surprised at this. "Do not be afraid of that. Sometimes we must suffer before our reward. It will come to you. The truth is not always something bad and an empty heart can be filled with time and patience."

The Shaman then looked at Eduardo and spoke directly to him. The older man smiled and nodded.

"What did he say?" Helga demanded.

"He asked me not to translate the last part," Eduardo said. "He sees your paths plainly, but doesn't want to interfere with your destiny. El Corazon knows and has shown him the future of his Gods."

Eduardo smiled as Arnold pulled Helga away before she could angrily retort what she thought of that. He watched the two as they boarded the boat, letting go of each other's hands before anyone saw them.

"Soulmates?" he asked Maana-ul in his language.

"A God must have his Goddess," the holy man replied simply. "A God of Peace and a Goddess of War. It is fitting. Only soulmates could get El Corazon to reveal so much of their hearts to themselves."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my plans for this story, right from the beginning when I decided to do a full on TJM fic, it was always my idea to have Phoebe be the one to take out La Sombra. I love Phoebe as a character, and since Helga was the heroine most of the story, I wanted Phoebe to really shine.


	31. Wait for Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return to San Lorenzo - and Arnold makes a difficult decision.

**Chapter 31 - Wait For Me**

The trip downriver was, essentially, uneventful. Miles and Eduardo took turns piloting the boat while the kids and the other adults slept. None of them were comfortable, but exhaustion won out. The sun had almost set when they spotted the pier that serviced the small village of San Lorenzo.

Helga felt anxious as they debarked from the boat, into the waiting crowd of the San Lorenzo villagers. She watched as Mr. Simmons hurried away from the dock with Sid in search of the village doctor. She barely noted that Señorita Valdez and Mr. Jay were there, explaining to Mr. Collins that they had only returned to the village that day and were in the midst of organizing a rescue party when the boat was spotted. Eduardo was speaking to two older men about contacting the nearest police force in the next village. Helga was too tired and her mind was jumbled from everything that happened in the past couple of days, weeks, months. She had barely slept on the boat, as she couldn't take her eyes off Arnold, who sat with either his mother or father, or both, the entire trip down. He looked so happy and she was happy in turn, knowing she played a small part in bringing that happiness to him.

Helga's anxiety stemmed from being unsure of where they stood with each other. Arnold had kissed her in the jungle, and told her he hoped she still loved him. To her, that meant he at least liked her back. Liked her-liked her. It was probably too much to hope that he loved her like she loved him, but liking-liking was a good start. He liked her enough to kiss her and want to hold her hand. Then there was everything he said. Helga couldn't believe how giddy she felt. It was a great new feeling for her and she honestly couldn't stop smiling.

Arnold's parents took him with them as they followed Eduardo toward his home. Helga heard Eduardo tell Stella and Miles that their house was occupied by another family, so they could stay with him. Helga wasn't surprised Arnold went with them. She just hoped at some point they could talk and she could finally understand what was going on.

All the kids wearily returned to their cabins. It was very late in the day and they were all dirty, hungry and exhausted. Villagers brought food to them and they all took turns taking long baths in between stuffing themselves full of the delicious food provided for them. Then one by one they fell into their cots and into dreamless slumber.

Except Helga.

She felt a million times better as she lay in her cot, her hands clutching her locket. It was great to feel clean for the first time in days, and even better to not feel hungry. It was even better to feel, dare she hoped, loved. She lay a long time before finally falling asleep and into dreams of kissing Arnold again.

* * *

Everyone slept in the following day. It look so long for everyone to get up and moving, bathed once again, and dressed, that it was lunchtime when the kids finally emerged, straggling into the bright sunlight and humid day. They all headed straight to the square where they had been taking their meals and wearily sat down, most of them not even talking to each other. Gerald sat opposite Helga and Phoebe as usual. Helga was happy to see a radiant Arnold sitting with his parents and the other adults.

They were nearly done when Arnold pulled himself away from his parents to join his friends, sitting across from Helga with a big smile for her. She returned it shyly.

"Hey guys!"

He and Gerald did their handshake and Gerald said. "Man, I'm so happy for you…"

Though it didn't seem possible, Arnold's smile got even bigger. "Thanks Gerald! I still can't believe it!" He looked at all three of them, one at a time. "Thank you all for your help. I wouldn't have my parents back if it weren't for you. I will thank everyone else, but I know it was all because of you three. I can't believe everything you all did!"

Phoebe smiled. "We were glad to help, Arnold. I know all of us," and she included the rest of the class in her gesture, "are thrilled that you have them back."

When lunch was over, Mr. Simmons said they were free to do as they pleased, just stay in the village and not wander off. "What do you want to do?" Gerald asked, looking first at Arnold, then at the girls.

"Stinky and Eugene said they were gonna play soccer with the village kids. Want to do that?" Arnold asked.

They all nodded and got up from the table to follow some of the rest of the class that had decided to play as well, but Arnold put his hand on Helga's arm to halt her. He waited until everyone had passed them, smiling at her the whole time, which made her a little self-conscious.

"Thank you," he said simply, once they were alone.

"For what?"

"For what!?" he exclaimed, shaking his head. "Sometimes you're impossible!" he added, though he was sort of laughing as he said it. "For everything, Helga. Everything you did. It's all because of you that we're here. It's all because of you I have my parents back. I owe everything to you!"

Helga looked uncomfortable at what he said. She did this because she loved him, so in her mind he didn't have to thank her. It's what you did for those you loved.

Arnold added before she could protest, "And don't say to not thank you, and don't say you didn't do anything. Just quietly accept my thanks." He reached for her hand and held it as they both started toward the school's soccer field.

She had to laugh at that. "Ok, I will." Then after a moment, she added, "Whatever you say, Arnold."

* * *

The soccer game was fun, though all of them were fairly sluggish as they attempted to kick the ball around to each other. The village kids were, of course, much more skilled at the game and beat the Hillwood team by an embarrassing amount of goals.

Helga and Arnold were the last to leave the field and they walked slowly behind everyone toward their cabins. Though Arnold had stayed with his parents in Eduardo's home, his things were still in the boys' cabin. "There's so many things I want to say to you," he said suddenly to her.

Helga thought a moment. "There's a lot I want to say to you, too."

"I don't know where to start."

"I don't either," she admitted.

"I guess we have a lot of time to figure it out when we get home."

Her heart was fluttering in a way it never had before. "We do," she agreed.

"I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow."

"I can't either. I think I'll be glad to be home."

They had almost reached the cabins. Arnold smiled at her and asked, "Can I sit next to you at dinner? Instead of across from you? I doubt Gerald will mind sitting next to Phoebe…"

"You don't want to sit with your parents?"

"Well yeah, but I also want to sit with you. I'm sure my parents will understand."

"Of course," she said, looking away and added shyly, "I'd like that."

"Great! I'll see you in a bit!" He kissed her on her cheek, blushing, before running up the steps into his cabin. She lightly touched the spot on her cheek and sighed before going into the girls cabin to do what she could to look nice for him at dinner.

* * *

Before dinner, in Eduardo's house, Stella and Miles sat alone together on the rather worn and patched couch, looking solemnly at each other. The couple looked better than they did when they had been rescued. Though still very thin and weak, they were at least clean and in new clothes and felt a hundred times better. Most of that was psychological now they had their son back.

"I hate to do that to him Miles," Stella said in a stressed tone.

"I do too. It's asking a lot of a kid who has been through so much already," Miles responded. "Even if we don't stay here, it's going to take a while for things to get worked out. Eduardo and Dad said that the US government considers us dead. I imagine it will take a lot of fast talking and paperwork to convince them we're alive. We won't be able to go back to the states right away no matter what we decide."

"True, and we owe the Green Eyes so much. They've saved our lives. Again. And not only that, our sons' life…" Stella trailed off.

* * *

Helga left her hair down, but brushed it really well. Arnold still had her hair bow, though his arm had been bandaged better when they had returned. He just hadn't given it back to her. She lost her hair ties in the jungle and while she had extra, she liked the way her hair looked down and hoped he did too. Phoebe had suggested it anyway, mysteriously saying that she was pretty sure that Arnold liked Helga's hair, but wouldn't explain further.

She was blushing as she sat down next to him, as was Phoebe when she got to sit next to Gerald. The new seating arrangement was not lost on their classmates, who teased all four of them into blushes. That is until Helga glared at them and lifted her fist as a silent reminder of what she was capable of.

Sitting next to him felt strange, but in a good way. Both of their cheeks were tinged pink for most of their dinner, but both of them felt happy. Arnold even held her hand under the table while they waited for their food and whispered to her that he liked her hair down.

"I know there is supposed to be a bonfire tonight," he said to her once dinner was over.

"Yeah, I heard Simmons talking about it," Helga said faintly. Then, gathering up her courage, asked, "Do you want to sit with me?"

He frowned slightly, making her heart stop, but said, "Of course I do, but my mom and dad said they needed to talk to me about something. So I might not be able to go to it."

"Oh," she said, disappointed. "Ok."

"I'm sorry, but…"

She smiled, "Don't worry about it."

"Save me a seat though, in case this talk goes quick."

Helga didn't see him the rest of the night.

* * *

Arnold sat at the table in Eduardo's house looking at his parents. They both looked worried and, he thought oddly, guilty. Why would they look like that?

"Arnold," his mother said gently. "Your father and I have something we need to discuss with you."

"Ok, Mom."

His parents looked at each other, then his father sighed. "Son, we're not going to be able to go back to the states right away."

Arnold stared at his father, his mind working that out. "What do you mean Dad?"

Miles explained to him that, according to the US government, he and Stella were actually deceased. "We don't know why, but apparently they declared us dead. Well, I guess it makes sense; we were gone so long. They even sent death certificates to your grandparents."

Arnold shook his head. "Grandpa never told me that," he said slowly.

"I know. We talked to your grandparents this morning. There's going to be a lot to do with the Embassy in order to get all of this straightened out."

"Well that's ok, Dad. I mean, once it's worked out, everything will be alright then? Won't it?"

His parents looked at each other again. His mother then reached across the table and took his hand. "Chief Maik-ul asked us for our help before we left the island. The Green Eyes still suffer. The sickness was never fully eradicated, and they want our help. They want your help. They see you as a savior and think you will be the one to bring them all together in the lost city. They just saved our lives again, Arnold, and yours. And your friends. We can't just abandon them."

Arnold heart sped up. What was his mother saying? "Mom?"

"I'd like to stay here and help them, Arnold. I feel like I have to do whatever I can do, they've done so much for us."

"There's a lot of work we have to do here, son," Miles added. "We both feel like we should stay, even when we get everything worked out at the Embassy."

"And we want you to stay here with us," Stella said.

"Stay here?" Arnold said blankly, pulling his hand from his mothers. He sat back, stunned. He wasn't expecting this. Leave Hillwood? Leave his grandparents? His home? His friends? And - here his heart felt like it stopped and went cold - Helga?

"I know this is asking a lot of you, Arnold," his mother said softly. "But we don't want to be separated from you again."

"We will understand, though, if you decide not to stay here," Miles said, and Stella nodded.

Arnold just sat, staring at nothing. How could he make this decision? He felt slightly resentful of his parents and especially of these Green Eyes. That kind of feeling was practically foreign to him, who rarely thought badly of anyone. It reminded him of just before he found the journal - he remembered being angry at his parents for leaving and never coming back. But this? Asking him to decide between the life he'd known for almost eight years and a new life in San Lorenzo?

Arnold had wanted to have his parents back since the moment they left all those years ago. Now he did have them back, but in order to have them back, he would have to uproot his life. While he wasn't unhappy with the thought of living in San Lorenzo, he was giving up his grandparents and friends, and most importantly, Helga. He wouldn't see her again right after coming to realize he loved her.

"For-for how long?" he asked in a small voice.

"We're not sure, dear, we're just not sure. You have to understand, too, we have no idea what's going on in the world. We have no idea what has changed. We've been out of touch for almost eight years, so, to be perfectly honest, moving back to Hillwood scares us and we need time to make that adjustment as well. It could take a long time to help the Green Eyes or it could be handled quickly. We just don't know," Stella said.

"Arnold, I know it will be hard to say goodbye to your friends, so like I said, if you decide to go back tomorrow, we will understand," Miles added gently.

Arnold sat for another few minutes, then stood and said in a shaky voice "I need to think…" He turned and, with tears filling his eyes, staggered off to the guest room where he and his parents were sleeping in Eduardo's house.

* * *

Helga lay in the girls' cabin on the cot next to Phoebe, her eyes wide open. The locket with Arnold's picture was clasped closely to her chest and thoughts were spinning in her head. She still felt Arnold's lips on hers, two days later. _'He kissed me…he wanted to kiss me. He hopes that I still feel the same.' _This same thought kept bouncing through her mind.

She turned her head to look at her sleeping friend. Phoebe's soft snore proved she was deep in sleep and Helga pondered waking her up. Helga hadn't told Phoebe yet what happened. She didn't know why, because she told Phoebe everything. However, right after it happened there wasn't a chance. And at first she wanted to keep it to herself - a sweet little memory all her own. Hers and Arnold's.

She did frown slightly. Arnold hadn't said anything to her about it since. He held her hand a couple of times. They shared shy smiles and looked often at each other, which caused their classmates to tease them to blushes even more than they had been teasing them before the kiss. And there was that kiss on the cheek and wanting to sit next to her at dinner, but he was completely wrapped up in his parents, which Helga completely understood. Arnold did say they would figure it out when they got home, but still...

'_No!'_ she told herself sternly. _'Arnold wouldn't have said that…wouldn't have kissed me if he didn't like me.' _She felt a wave of giddiness roll over her and she again almost woke Phoebe to tell her.

'_We're going home tomorrow,'_ Helga thought_. 'Once we're home and things are back to normal…'_ she caught her breath, trying not to let her imagination run wild. There were school dances and dates to look forward to. _'Is he my boyfriend now?'_ she wondered.

One dark thought kept popping into her mind. _'Things never go right for me. When I'm happy, it's taken away. Something bad is going to happen.'_

She frowned. _'NO!' _she mentally yelled at herself. _'YOU are going to think positive. Arnold is the best thing to ever happen to you. He kissed you. He likes you. Nothing bad is going to happen.'_

With that settled in her mind, Helga kept the happy thoughts repeating in her mind until her last one - _'I'll tell Phoebe tomorrow' - _and she fell into the most peaceful sleep she had ever had.

* * *

"Phoebe? Helga?" their names were called accompanied by a rough shaking.

They roused and sat up, wiping their eyes. "What?" Helga said sleepily.

Sheena was looking at them anxiously. They saw the other girls dash out of the door. "The bus is here! It's way early! We're leaving! You both looked so tired last night, that we decided to let you sleep in. But the bus is already here. Hurry up!" Sheena turned back to her cot and scrambled to finish packing.

They stared at each other for a few seconds in confusion before jumping up. "It wasn't supposed to be here until later today!" Phoebe protested, hurrying out of her pajamas and into her regular clothes.

"I know!" Sheena said, stuffing things haphazardly into her bag. "Just hurry! The rest are out saying goodbye."

There was a knock on their door and Phoebe called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Arnold, is Helga in there?"

Phoebe, Sheena, and Helga all looked at each other. "Just a minute Arnold, we are getting dressed!" Phoebe yelled.

Phoebe and Helga finished dressing and Phoebe went into the bathroom. Sheena gave Helga a smile before bolting out of the door with her bags. Arnold stepped aside as the tall girl ran out, then climbed the steps into the cabin. Helga nervously smiled at him as she stuffed things into her own bag, but he didn't return her smile. He looked upset and serious, and her heart felt like it turned cold.

"What's up, Football Head?" she asked, trying to keep her tone light as she turned back to her task.

"Helga…" he said, his voice strained. "I need to talk to you."

"Ok, so talk," she said over her shoulder. Helga was looking into her bag and avoiding his eyes. She had an idea of what he was going to say and she knew she didn't want to hear it.

He came closer to her and reached for her hand. She tried to not let him take it, but he did and made her turn around. "Helga, look at me."

She finally did and Arnold could see that scared and sad look in her eyes again. He groaned inwardly, because he had finally made those expressions disappear in the jungle and he felt horrible he made them come back. She saw how much pain was in his eyes and how confused he looked.

He took a deep breath and finally said it in a rush, "My parents don't want to go back to Hillwood. They want to stay here for a while. And they want me to stay with them."

Arnold could see it, literally see it. Her walls came back and the sad look in her eyes deepened.

He continued, "I thought about it all night. I don't know what to do. I don't want to leave Hillwood…my friends…my grandparents…everything I know…" He paused. "Or you…"

She was still silent and her eyes broke his heart.

Helga felt empty; she felt nothing but coldness. She couldn't even feel the hand holding hers. It surprised her that she didn't even feel like crying, though she knew she should be. She was right last night. Her happiness wouldn't last. El Corazon showed her this would happen. Helga felt the same as she did that morning in the temple – empty and lost. She did understand one thing though, no matter what, after everything they had gone through, after everything Arnold had gone through his entire life, he needed to be with his parents.

Helga made a decision right then, the hardest she had ever made and the most unselfish decision she could make. She gave him up and let him go even as she was consumed with emptiness.

"You need to be with your parents, Arnold," she finally said in a voice that didn't even sound like her own. "We didn't look for them just so you could leave them."

Arnold stared at her and knew she was right, and somehow knew how hard this was for her to say. "I hope-I hope it won't be for long," he said. "My parents said we will go home, just not right away."

She stared back at him, silent now. He had no idea what to say then, his own heart was heavy and broken and Arnold couldn't bear the look in her eyes. "Thank you," he whispered, reaching up to kiss Helga's cold cheek. She pulled her hand from his and turned toward her things.

"I need to pack," she said in a hollow voice, startling him.

"Ok…" he said slowly. "I need to go say goodbye to everyone."

"Tell Simmons we'll be out soon."

She heard him leave and shut the door. Almost immediately the bathroom door swung open and Phoebe rushed over to hug her. She was stiff in Phoebe's arms.

"Helga? Helga?" Phoebe cried. "Helga!"

"It's ok, Phoebe," she said.

"Helga I'm so sorry…"

"It's ok," Helga repeated, gently pushing Phoebe away. "It's for the best," she added, turning back to shove things in her bag.

Phoebe stared at her, startled by this apparent lack of feeling. Then Phoebe noticed Helga was overlooking a lot of her things and vaguely looking around the room. Phoebe helped her pack, then turned to finish her own packing quickly. While she did, Helga sat down on her cot and stared at the door.

They heard Mr. Simmons call through the door for them. "Come on girls, time to go."

"Alright Helga, let's go say 'goodbye' to Arnold," Phoebe said gently.

There was a small cry from the back of Helga's throat that pierced Phoebe's heart. "It will be alright Helga. I am here," she said, grabbing Helga under her arm and helped her to stand up. "I will be right here next to you. I will be there, it will be alright," she kept saying.

Almost everyone was on the bus already and Arnold was halfway through hugging and saying goodbye to his classmates. His parents stood off to the side, looking happily at their son, but there was also pity in their eyes.

The kids boarded the bus after Arnold said his goodbye's to each one. Gerald, Phoebe, and Helga were the last ones. He and Gerald put their fists together and wiggled their thumbs. Gerald tried to smile, but he couldn't. He hugged Arnold tightly. "I'm gonna miss you, best friend," Arnold said.

After Arnold hugged and said goodbye to Phoebe, she and Gerald stayed by Helga's side as Arnold turned to the blond girl. The other kids pressed their faces to the windows on the bus, having already boarded, and watched, curious because of what they perceived was Arnold and Helga falling for each other during the trip.

"Helga," Arnold said sadly. "Thank you." He had so much to say and no time to say it. He was worried about how pale she looked and that blank look in her eyes. _'This is so hard,' _he thought. _'I love her, but my parents.' _He said aloud to her in a low tone. "I'm so sorry, I don't want to say goodbye to you."

Helga's voice sounded funny when she answered. "It's ok, Arnold. I told you, I understand. Really, I do. You have to be with your mom and dad."

He grabbed her hand with his. "I will write you every week and come home as soon as I can," he promised.

Helga just nodded and then he hugged her, which she didn't return, just received stiffly. "I'm sorry, I'll miss you so much," he whispered before pulling away, then looked into her eyes and pleaded, "Wait for me!"

"Come on kids…" Mr. Simmons called softly, standing next to the door of the bus, trying to ignore the grumbling and swearing of the bus driver.

"Come on Helga," Phoebe said gently, taking her arm and pulling her away. Helga stared into Arnold's pleading eyes and gave him a small nod before she allowed herself to be pulled over to the bus with Gerald following them and they climbed on board. She didn't even feel Mr. Simmons put his hand briefly on the back of her head in comfort.

Phoebe got Helga into a seat halfway down the bus. She slid over to the window and felt Phoebe's weight settle next to her. She turned to look out the window at Arnold, who was standing in the same spot, only his parents had moved to either side of him, hands resting on his shoulders. She stared at him as the bus started and slowly started pulling away.

Arnold raised his hand, looking only at her. Helga raised her hand too, pressing her fingers against the glass. He mouthed the word "Goodbye" but the bus pulled away before she could say it back.

Everything happened so fast. Was she only just planning their future last night? And now she was on a bus leaving him without the chance to have a proper goodbye. Helga sat silently in her seat, staring at the back of the seat in front of her. She was cold all over, and numb. Just numb. Her mind was empty of all but that dark thought. El Corazon was right.

The rest of the class was silent. They were all turned in their seats and staring at her, unsure of what to do. This was not a Helga Pataki they had ever seen. Sid whispered to Stinky, "I told you something was going on between them." Stinky only nodded, his expression upset. Even Harold and Rhonda, who never passed a chance to pick on Helga, stayed silent. Mr. Simmons, Mr. Collins and Jay sat quietly in the front, all three glancing at each other and at Helga. "Pity," Mr. Collins said sadly, getting nods from the other two.

Phoebe took Helga's hand in hers. "It will be alright, Helga," she said again. Phoebe glanced across the aisle at Gerald, who stared at his knees sadly himself. He was leaving his best friend. She reached across the aisle and Gerald grabbed her hand.

After a few moments, Helga turned her head and looked down at Phoebe, whose own eyes had filled with tears. "I'm glad you're here, Phoebe," she said in a voice filled with sadness. They sat in silence like that the rest of the trip, Helga and Gerald relying on Phoebe for comfort as the bus returned to the airport.


	32. You Did Hear Me, Right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years...five months. What's changed? What's stayed the same? Surprises?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about a LOOOOOOOOONG chapter to wrap everything up? Especially after leaving it the way I did in the last chapter. All of this chapter is actually where I started the whole story.

**Chapter 32 - You Did Hear Me, Right?**

_Five years, Five Months later..._

Helga walked down the steps to the school, heading home alone. Phoebe was at a club meeting and Helga wanted to get home and start on her homework, rather than wait the hour for her friend.

"Pataki! Wait up!" she heard called behind her. She stopped and turned to see Kyle Janzen sprinting down the steps toward her. Inwardly she rolled her eyes, but she did wait.

Kyle smiled as he caught up to her. She returned the smile with her own signature sad smile. He was a good looking guy in her Lit class - a Junior like her. Funny and charming, popular and fairly smart. A good catch in the eyes of the female (and a few of the male) population at Hillwood High with his brown hair and blue eyes and perfect smile.

"Thanks again for your help in Lit class," he said, grinning at her.

"Oh, it was my pleasure."

They had an assignment analyzing Henry Fielding's work and she helped him with his paper. They spent a couple of afternoons at the library working on the assignment and she got to know him a little more than she usually got to know any of the non-PS118 guys at her high school. She liked him well enough and in another life might have even liked him-liked him. She smiled a bit at the term.

"Heading home?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Mind if I walk you home?"

She looked at him and sighed. Helga knew this would happen. This always happens. She didn't want him to. It would give him an idea that she might be interested in him when she wasn't, but he was a nice guy, so she shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat."

They started walking down the block toward her house. That attitude was one of the things he liked about her. Helga was an enigma at their school. She hadn't really been on Kyle's radar as far as girls went, because she didn't fit into the typical high school cliques. In fact, no one who went to PS118 did. They were their own clique of mis-matched types and personalities. These kids who grew up together remained fiercely loyal to each other for the most part, in spite of their differences.

Helga, however, was a mystery. She rarely socialized with those outside of PS118. She never dated anyone, which spawned all kinds of rumors as to why. While she wasn't beautiful in the typical high-school-cheerleader-beauty style, she was good-looking enough. She wasn't girly in the sense that a lot of the other girls he went out with were. She didn't wear makeup and didn't put any effort into her hair. While her hair was long and blond and gorgeous, it was usually haphazardly pulled into a messy braid or ponytail. She dressed for comfort, not style, and until it got cold usually wore a t-shirt and capris. She was tomboyish with a figure to reflect that, not too curvy, other than her hips.

The main consensus was that Helga was good-looking enough, but a cold fish. Her mystery, aloofness and her habit of turning down any offer of a date was what made her desirable and she was much sought-after by all of the guys at school, who now saw her as a challenge more than anything. Kyle hadn't paid much attention to all that. He dated someone else the previous year and broke up with her the past summer. After working with Helga on the project, however, he found her to be a warm and funny girl who was incredibly smart, though she never smiled in a way that reached her sad eyes.

"So…" he began.

'_Here it comes'_ she thought, waiting.

"…you planning on going to homecoming?" Kyle asked her.

She looked at him with that sad smile again. "No, I don't plan on going."

"How come?"

"No date," she answered, looking away.

"Well, what if you did have a date?"

"I won't, though. At least, I'm pretty sure I won't."

He looked at her, puzzled. He stopped, putting his hand on her arm to halt her. She did and turned to him, her wide blue eyes looking up at him. "Helga, I really enjoyed working with you on that project and I'd like to get to know you better. I'd like to take you to Homecoming."

She pursed her lips together and sighed through her nose. She shook her head. "Kyle, you don't want to take me."

He looked surprised. "Yes I do. I think you're nice and funny, and smart…pretty…" he started to say, but she lifted her hand.

"I'm sorry Kyle, but the answer is no."

He looked upset, but he nodded. "Ok."

"It's not you, it's me."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why? Why not go with me? Why do you not date anyone?" he asked.

"I just don't."

"Are any of the rumors true, then? Why you turn all the guys down?"

Helga actually laughed at that. "The rumors? Which one? That I'm a lesbian? No. That I have a secret husband ten years older than me? No. That I'm having an affair with one of the teachers or the principal? No. That I'm sexually abused at home? No."

Kyle listened to her listing off the popular rumors with a small feeling of shame. He did notice she had left one main one out, so he asked, "What about you waiting for that guy?"

Her laughter broke off and she looked away. "What?"

"I heard that a few times. You're hung up on some guy that you went to elementary school with. He's stuck in some jungle or something."

She looked upset for a brief moment. "That's actually true. I am waiting for him."

Kyle's mouth dropped open. She saw it when she looked at him and had to chuckle. She never really talked about it to anyone.

"Really?" he asked. "That's the true one? Some guy you haven't seen in what?"

"Just over five years. Five years, five months and counting."

"So what? This guy never returns and you just have nobody?"

"If that's what happens."

Kyle shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. You choose to be alone?"

"I'm not alone," Helga protested. "I have my friends."

"What kind of hold does this guy have on you?"

"He asked me to wait for him," she said, shrugging. "I said I would. I'm a girl of my word."

She started walking again and he followed, his expression one of a guy lost in thought. They were silent until they reached her block and she gestured to her house. "Thanks for the company," she said. "And I am sorry I can't say yes. If things were different…"

He smiled at her then, which surprised her. Most of the rumors, the nasty ones, started from guys she turned down. "That's ok. I think it's actually pretty amazing you are so loyal to this guy. I hope it works out for you. And him. And I hope he appreciates you when he does come back."

She groaned inwardly. Kyle would be an awesome guy to date if she were free to date anyone. No one else really understood, no one outside of her PS118 guy friends.

"Thanks Kyle, I really appreciate your understanding. See you tomorrow."

She went into her house, giving Kyle a last wave as she shut the door. She leaned back against the closed door and sighed. Helga usually never felt bad after turning someone down. Brainy was the only one she regretted having to tell 'no', and that was only because she knew Brainy truly loved her. Kyle would have made a good boyfriend, but she really did give her heart away years ago. Until she heard from that 'guy in the jungle' she couldn't do anything but wait for him.

Her mother came in from the living room and looked at her youngest daughter. Helga was a little surprised at the serious expression on her mother's face. "Hey Miriam," she said, kicking off her shoes.

"Helga?" her mother said her name in a questioning way.

"What's up, Miriam? You look almost upset."

Miriam sighed and closed the distance between her and her daughter and pulled her into a hug. Helga stiffened at first, still unused to this new emotionally expressive Pataki family, but she felt her panic start to rise. "Mom, what happened?"

"You got a letter from him today. I know it's been a while since you've had one."

Helga blinked a few times, her eyes widening. He had written every other week for five years, but for some reason, she hadn't heard from him in two months. She figured that he was finally tired of waiting for her to write back.

Miriam let Helga go and moved over to the stack of mail on the table in the foyer. She took an envelope off the top and handed it silently to her daughter. Without saying a word, Helga went into the living room to sit on the couch and open it up.

It was short, much shorter than he usually wrote. His letters were usually multiple pages full of everything he did in San Lorenzo, but this was basically two paragraphs:

_Dear Helga,_

_My Mom and Dad have decided to come home to Hillwood. They are worried about my Grandma and Grandpa and them getting too old to take care of the boarding house. So it looks like I'll be home soon. That's why I haven't written in a long time. We've been wrapping up everything down here, saying our goodbyes, and arranging things with the US embassy so that we can come home. They were hoping to do it before school started, but some complications came up, which my parents had to deal with. Everything is worked out now. My dad published the book about the Green Eyes I told you about, and he also got a job teaching next semester at the local college, which is what they were waiting for._

_I should be on a plane when you get this. I know I haven't written in a couple of months, but I wanted to let you know I'd be home soon. I can't wait to see you. I have a lot to talk to you about._

_Love,  
Arnold_

Miriam heard Helga give a little cry in the living room and she peered in. "Are you alright, Helga?" she asked, concerned.

She heard Helga say in a soft voice "He's coming home…" before she fainted, falling off the couch.

* * *

He pushed open the door of his room, immediately glancing up to the glass ceiling, where the full moon hung patiently in the sky above. "I'm home," he whispered to the quiet place that he hadn't set foot in for five years.

"Arnold!" his mom called up the stairs. "You forgot your bags!"

He smiled, a warm feeling still washing over him now that he could hear his mothers' voice again. "I'll be down in a minute, Mom!" he yelled back. "I just wanted to say hi to my room!"

He could hear her faint chuckle as she carried her own bags to her and his father's room.

It looked as if he had never left. Everything was in place, exactly as he remembered on the morning he left for the trip that would change his life. He wandered around the room touching his things gently, enjoying the memories each item brought to him_. 'I think, however, a makeover is in order. Some of these things are a little outdated,_' he laughed to himself.

Arnold and his parents arrived late in the evening after hours and hours on planes. All three were exhausted, but the excitement of being home finally, after a five year (for Arnold at least, longer for his parents) absence kept them from their beds. Grandma and Grandpa were, naturally, hugged time and time again by Arnold, which was the case when he went down for the rest of his bags.

"You're taller than me, Short Man," Grandpa kept remarking every time he saw Arnold.

"I'm sixteen in a week, Grandpa," he would say, grinning.

"Sixteen, eh? Good age. I remember my sixteenth year," he said reminiscently. "Looks like I'm gonna have to take you out driving, Short Man."

"Yeah Grandpa! That'd be great!"

His fathers' laugh filled the room, "Let us get settled back in, Dad," he said. "We've been in a jungle a long time, this'll be culture shock for Stella and me."

Arnold grinned, which turned into a yawn. There was so much he wanted to do, but sleep was the first next order of business. He kissed his parents and grandparents and trudged up the stairs.

Arnold looked around his room again. _'It's good to be home,_' he thought again. He collapsed on his bed and rolled to his back, tucking his hands behind his head and gazed out to the night sky. _'This bed seems so small now,_' he thought sleepily.

He was excited to be home and couldn't wait to see his friends again. The phone had rung almost as soon as they walked in the door and Grandpa had grumbled that it was probably Gerald again, who had called multiple times that day hoping that Arnold was home. His best friend wanted to come over right away, but Arnold put him off until the next afternoon. He was tired and he had something he planned to do in the morning. See 'her'.

He sighed, thinking of her again. 'Her' that was rarely out of his thoughts. His stomach felt funny, thinking that maybe he'd get to see 'her' tomorrow.

"Why did she never write me?" he asked in a whisper. "I wrote her all the time, but she never wrote back."

Arnold and Gerald kept in touch, writing each other every other week. There was no internet connection where he lived, so email was out of the question. He was ok with that, being old-fashioned. He liked receiving actual letters. Most of his former school friends had written him here and there. Not as regularly as Gerald, but occasionally. The letters did make him homesick. He realized how much he was missed, but after being reunited with his parents, he had to stay with them.

He groaned. Except 'her'. For practically the millionth time over the past five years, he thought once again, _'Why didn't she write me?' _Arnold lived for the mentions of her in the letters he did get from the others. He rarely solicited for news of her, but since she was friends with all his friends, she occasionally showed up, but never anything from her.

In spite of his frustration, he was slowly succumbing to sleep. Before he drifted off, though, he reached over for his backpack and pulled it closer to dig through. He pulled out a picture and looked at it for a few minutes before propping it up against the lamp on his nightstand. Arnold laid on his side looking at the picture of the four kids standing there with their arms around each other.

The picture was taken five years ago in the jungles of San Lorenzo during the class field trip by his teacher, Mr. Simmons. Gerald sent it to him in his first letter. Arnold stood in the middle with Gerald on his left, Phoebe on the other side of Gerald, and 'her' on Arnold's right. They were laughing at something he couldn't remember, but it was his favorite picture. They were all ten and eleven years old and he knew he and Gerald and Phoebe had changed quite a bit, but he had no idea if she had changed. He'd had no new pictures of her, just this much-worn picture to remember how pretty she was, how it felt to have his arm around her waist and hers around his shoulders. How it felt to kiss her. She looked happier in this picture than he'd ever seen her, it was taken before he had caused that light to die from her eyes.

He sighed guiltily, laying on his side as he gazed at the picture, much like he'd done every night for five years. "I hope she will see me tomorrow, I hope she'll forgive me, I hope she still loves me…" was his almost last thoughts as he drifted off to sleep. His last thought was her name "Helga".

* * *

She yawned, stretching as she sat up. Her clock said 9:00am and she pondered going back to sleep. It was Saturday and she had trouble falling asleep the night before. Her head filled with thoughts of Arnold's homecoming. She originally had nothing planned to do for Saturday, at least not until the evening when she and Phoebe planned To see a movie before going to hang out at Rhonda's. Helga knew she should try and get more sleep, but she was much too keyed up in her mind and emotions to think of that. She swung her feet from under the covers and got up to head to the bathroom for a shower.

She returned to her room after twisting her damp hair into a long braid, securing it with a small pink bow on the end, and brushing her teeth. She quickly dressed in baggy capris and a t-shirt. As she fastened a small, gold locket around her neck and tucked it under her shirt, she glanced at her desk where Arnold's letter lay and she felt that rush of longing she'd dealt with for thirteen years.

Helga picked up the page and looked at the familiar handwriting, much neater than it had been in his first letter. Her heart beat faster as she read again, as she had already read a dozen times. _"I should be on a plane when you get this. I know I haven't written in a couple of months, but I wanted to let you know I'd be home soon. I can't wait to see you. I have a lot to talk to you about."_

She couldn't help but roll her eyes. What did he want to talk about? Her not writing him for five years? She thought this guiltily, because he didn't deserve that. Arnold wrote friendly letters nearly every other week or so, but she never sent him a letter back. Not because she didn't want to, but because his letters were just that, friendly.

She needed to talk to Phoebe, who always understood, but she feared even Phoebe would be hard pressed to understand why she never wrote to Arnold.

Her phone was on the desk and she sent a simple text to Phoebe "Pheebs, I need you".

It only took a few minutes for her best friend to respond. "Coming."

Helga tucked the letter into its' envelope and went to her closet. Gone were the home-made shrines. There was now just a large shelf stuffed full of her poetry books and two boxes, hidden behind her clothes. In one of the boxes she tucked Arnold's latest letter, after running her fingers over the dozens of others. She then straightened up and looked at the other box. _'Maybe later,'_ she thought, turning around and leaving her closet.

The house was quiet. Her father was at work and her mother was at a community garden for her Saturday volunteer shift. She grabbed an apple out of a bowl and crunched into it as she leaned against the counter. She had just tossed the core when there was a knock on the door.

"Everything ok?" was Phoebe's first question, as she breezed in. Helga smiled down at her friend as she stepped inside. Phoebe pulled off her light jacket and led the way into the living room and sat cross-legged on the couch. "Everyone gone?"

"Yeah, we're alone."

"Good. So?" Phoebe asked, looking at her lifelong friend, a concerned expression on her face.

"The same thing that's always wrong, Phoebe."

"Arnold?"

Helga nodded. "Want anything?" she asked, gesturing toward the kitchen.

"No thanks. I was finishing breakfast when I got your text."

She was quiet for a few moments, chewing on her thumbnail.

"I got a letter from Arnold," Helga finally said.

"Oh good! I had one myself. He is coming home," Phoebe stated, smiling.

"Yeah…"

"Aren't you excited?"

"No."

Phoebe couldn't hide the rather shocked expression that slid onto her features. "But…" she said blankly.

Helga covered her face with her hands, "Phoebe, I've been a horrible person."

"But Helga," Phoebe started.

"No, I have." She looked at Phoebe through her fingers. "Arnold's been writing to me all these years," she said.

"I know he has, he has kept in touch with all of us."

"I've never written back."

Phoebe stared at her, her mouth hanging slightly open. "You…haven't?" she asked faintly.

"No."

"But, but why?"

Helga dropped her hands by her side onto the chair cushion. "It's hard to explain."

"Please try," Phoebe said with an edge to her voice.

Helga thought a moment. "I never told you what happened in the jungle," she began. "After everything happened, before you guys found us, where Arnold had been hurt."

"Yes?" Phoebe said nodding.

"You know what happened on the roof of Future Tech, what a fool I made of myself." She saw Phoebe start to shake her head. "I did. It's ok. But in the jungle, everything had happened and we were alone and I was kind of panicking, so Arnold kept talking to keep me calm."

"Sounds like him," Phoebe commented with a slight smile.

"Yeah, anyway, it wasn't working and we were arguing. That's when he fell and I tied up his arm with my hair ribbon. He mentioned the FTi thing and I got so frightened. I didn't want a repeat of that, but I accidentally said he broke my heart. I was humiliated and angry."

"I can imagine."

"He made me look at him. I just wanted to hide. He said I didn't need to be afraid and he kissed me."

"He did!?" Phoebe cried, her features brightening and her hands clasping themselves. "Oh Helga! I knew something happened the way you both acted when we got back to the village!"

Helga nodded, absently toying with the hem of her t-shirt. "I was in shock, Pheebs, truly. I had no idea what to say or do. He said he knew I was afraid of him, and told me I shouldn't be. I had no reason to fear what he felt or thought. I tell you Phoebe, my heart stopped hearing him say all this."

"No doubt!"

"Anyway," she sighed. "He reminded me of what I said at Future Tech, which embarrassed me so much, and he could tell. He just kept talking about it, though, begging me to be honest with him, then said that he hoped I still felt that way. "

"Oh!"

Helga groaned then. "Up on that roof a year before, I had lost it. Everything I said was everything that had been pent up coming out. After that, I never brought it up. I hoped he'd forget it. I was so careful not to show him I still loved him."

"It was still obvious, Helga," Phoebe said gently. "To me, anyway. Probably more so. You spent all year avoiding him."

"I know. It just hurt too much to be around him. Anyway, you and Gerald found us before we could talk anymore."

"Ooooh!" groaned Phoebe. "If we could have waited five more minutes," she lamented.

Helga shrugged. "I don't know Pheebs. He never really said anything after that."

"He didn't?"

"No. We talked a little at the Temple, about how he'd wanted to kiss me all year, and that he'd been trying to tell me all year what he felt. He even told me he knew I wrote the essay. But you know how that day went. We were kind of occupied," she said wryly. "Everything happened so fast and then we were saying goodbye to him, as he decided to stay. We never had a chance to talk again. Our goodbye was awkward, but he promised to write."

"Which he has done," Phoebe pointed out.

"Yeah, but in five years he's never said anything about how he feels about me, or about what happened."

Phoebe thought about that. "So you didn't write back?"

"I looked forward so much to his first letter, Pheebs. You know, after I had snapped out of my shock. I waited every day for the mail." She couldn't help but smile, remembering her excitement five years ago. "And all he wrote was stuff about his parents and their home there and things that happened. Oh don't get me wrong," she quickly said, noticing the start of a frown on Phoebe's face. "I understood. I mean, yeah, something…sentimental…would have been nice, but I chalked it up to his happiness and excitement for being there and finally having his parents. I was so happy for him."

She paused, fidgeting a bit in her chair as Phoebe patiently waited. "I wrote back right away, but for some reason I never sent it. It seemed too gushy for me. I wrote another letter, and another. None of them seemed right. Then I kept putting it off. Then another letter arrived from him and I still hadn't responded to the first. As time went on, it just seemed stupid to send a letter after such a long time of never writing."

"You still should have, Helga," Phoebe said with that edge of disappointment in her voice.

"I know," she groaned. "But none of his letters ever said anything about how he felt about me. They just had generic "I did this" and "I did that" things in them. Generic questions about school and our friends. He never mentioned what happened, nothing. I guess I just thought he actually really didn't care about me."

"I do not think that is true, Helga," Phoebe said slowly, having in mind small things Arnold said in his letters to herself. She then fell silent, thinking. Helga waited. Phoebe was the smartest person she knew, but not only book smarts. Phoebe had a way of seeing through a lot of BS to the true heart of the matter in all things. Phoebe was wise beyond her years as well, and Helga depended on her for her steady commonsense and her blunt way of handling Helga's many emotions.

"Arnold was probably embarrassed to mention it again, especially since you never wrote him back. He was only ten years old, Helga, and I think if you had written regularly to him, his letters would have become more intimate."

"Do you think so?"

"I do. Arnold was awkward back then and it probably was hard for him to tell you what he told you in the first place. I think never hearing from you, he probably thought you were rejecting him."

Helga groaned again, burying her face in her hands. "I told you I was stupid."

"You were," Phoebe agreed. Helga wasn't offended, though. She knew how much Phoebe loved her and she didn't want a friend who couldn't be honest with her.

"I don't know how I can face him again when he comes back," Helga said sadly. "And I did write to him, all the time. I just never sent the letters. They're in a box in my closet," she waved vaguely in the direction of her room.

Phoebe studied her best friend. She had known Helga for thirteen years. Helga had truly matured and grown up a lot since those days of elementary school. The little girl who was a bully to everyone, Phoebe included at times, had changed into a loving and caring young woman. Oh she hadn't exactly gone soft. The sharp wit, sarcasm, and cynicism were still there, in plenty. She also had an occasional bout of pessimism and a fiery temper, but Helga didn't fight or pick on or bully anyone anymore.

Phoebe knew since the beginning how much Helga loved Arnold. She weathered the storms of Helga's intense emotions for years. That was one thing about Helga, she kept things bottled so deep inside that when they did explode, prepare for fireworks. And Phoebe was usually the only one who got to see those fireworks.

The change was evident when they returned from the trip. Phoebe had never been as frightened for her friend as she was on the trip home. Helga was depressed and in shock. Phoebe knew why, of course. She just didn't realize what else happened, which made things much worse for her best friend. Phoebe's heart hurt, knowing that once again, Helga kept something bottled up inside, hidden from her own best friend and only hurting herself.

It took two weeks for Helga to function again and the new Helga that emerged was much more subdued, but as the years passed she changed yet again. While she never really lost that aura of sadness, she did put the effort into strengthening the friendships she had with the kids of PS 118, to the point that the group was still a tight knit collection.

Phoebe was a little annoyed with Arnold as well. In five years of writing to her, he never mentioned to Phoebe that Helga wasn't writing. He mentioned her from time to time, but she always thought Helga was writing him. She was sure he had never mentioned it to her own boyfriend, Gerald, either. One word from either Arnold or Helga and Phoebe and Gerald could have fixed this issue years ago.

Phoebe didn't think Helga's problem was a huge one. Arnold was always understanding and forgiving. At least the old Arnold was. She was sure he had changed, just as they all had changed, but she honestly didn't think Arnold would ever lose his sweet and gentle nature. She frowned in thought, causing Helga to catch her breath for a moment. Phoebe still didn't say anything as she organized her thoughts. Helga watched her intently.

When Phoebe finally spoke, Helga leaned forward. "Helga, be honest with him when you see him. I want you to tell him exactly what you told me. I mean, leave out the whole backstory," she suggested with a small smile, "but tell him that you simply were not sure of how to write to him."

"He won't believe that, Pheebs," Helga protested. "He knows I'm a good writer because of that essay."

"Being a good writer does not mean you always know what to write. I think Arnold would understand that."

"I hope so," she sighed again. "I still love him Phoebe, and I hope he feels the same."

"And next time Helga, though I HOPE there is never a next time, do not keep things like this from me!" Phoebe said, letting her irritation come out in her tone. "I feel like giving you AND Arnold a piece of my mind. I could have fixed this five years ago. I also think you should give him the letters you never sent."

Helga hung her head sheepishly. "I will. If he'll accept my apology. I'm sorry Pheebs," she said in a small voice.

"I am more sorry for you," Phoebe said bluntly. "We will do our best to make it all better, though." She started to say something else when the doorbell interrupted her.

"Criminy, who's that?" Helga said irritably, getting up to go the front door. She slid the lock, turned the doorknob and yanked open the door to see a familiar face with worried green eyes, topped by a tangle of blond hair.

"Arnold!" she gasped.

* * *

Arnold tried to smooth his hair, but it was hopeless. He stood on the bottom step of Helga's stoop, looking up at her door. He checked his clothes absently, patting everything into place. He breathed into his cupped palm to make sure his breath was ok. He waited another minute before taking a deep breath to climb the last few steps to the top of the stoop and press the buzzer.

His heart beat hard and fast in his chest as he waited. He heard the lock and the doorknob turn and there she was. She wore irritated expression when the door swung open, but that quickly changed to shock as she gasped his name and her gorgeous blue eyes opened wide.

She stood rooted to the spot, staring at him, her hand still on the doorknob, as if she had turned to stone. He returned her stare. He couldn't believe what he saw. Her hair was different, slightly darker and longer and in a braid that snaked over her shoulder. He noticed the usual pink bow, only smaller, tied on the end. Helga was taller of course, but so was he and Arnold noticed he was actually slightly taller than her. He liked that he could finally look straight into her eyes. Her figure had also developed, but she was dressed in baggy clothes and still had the air of tomboy around her and he saw her ears had multiple piercings in them and he also saw, with surprise, a small stud with a pink gem on the side of her nose. She looked…hot…to him, and was still the same beautiful girl he said goodbye to all those years ago.

"H-hi," he finally said lamely.

She finally blinked, but didn't say anything. Then he heard his name shouted and saw Phoebe pop up by Helga's side. Phoebe pushed past Helga and threw her arms around Arnold. He laughed, hugging her back. "Phoebe! I'm so glad to see you! You look great!"

"Oh Arnold, so do you! So tall! We are so happy you are back!" the shorter girl gushed, pulling him into the house, past the still silent Helga. Helga slowly pushed the door shut and woodenly followed Phoebe and Arnold into the living room.

"I'm happy to be back, believe me," he said, settling onto the couch. Phoebe quickly snagged the only chair in the room, where Helga had been sitting, forcing Helga to sit on the couch too, which she did, only on the opposite end from Arnold.

"Gerald is so excited!" Phoebe continued. "Everyone from PS 118 will be! No one else at the school knows who you are. I think all the kids from other schools think you are a myth!" she laughed.

Arnold smiled, glancing at Helga while Phoebe chattered on. She was pale and looked scared. _'Helga scared?'_ he thought, confused_. 'I would have thought she got over that. I told her she never had a reason to be afraid of me.'_

Helga suddenly jumped up, interrupting Phoebe mid-sentence. "Are you thirsty? Hungry?" she gasped. "I can get you something."

Arnold looked up at her, startled, and started to shake his head. "No, I'm fine…"

Phoebe, however, knew Helga needed a minute to collect herself. "I could use some water please, Helga."

"Water, right," Helga said, spinning around and heading out to the kitchen. Arnold looked at Phoebe with a frown. He seemed, to Phoebe, really hurt.

She made a decision and said to him in a low, but hurried, voice. "She needed a minute to compose herself. You two need to talk, I will leave soon. She missed you so much, and you need to get her to tell you why she never wrote." She held up her hand when he opened his mouth to say something. "I only found out today she was not writing, or I would have kicked her butt about being so stupid much earlier than this, and I need to kick yours for never mentioning it to me or Gerald! She still loves you, Arnold, more than you could ever know. Do not think for a minute she has ever stopped loving you," She stopped abruptly and said in a bright tone. "You won't believe how much Harold has changed!" as Helga returned with a full glass, which she gave to Phoebe before sitting down again.

"I can't wait to see him, to see everyone," Arnold said, a hopeful warmth spreading through him at what Phoebe told him. "I haven't even seen Gerald yet," he mentioned.

Phoebe thought this was a good sign. He came to see Helga first, before his best friend. Helga was confused even more.

"Though," he said slowly with a grin. "It would be nice if Helga actually said hello to me." He glanced sidelong at her sitting stiffly on the opposite side of the couch.

Phoebe couldn't help but giggle, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. Helga, however, blushed and looked flustered. "I thought I did, Football Head," she snapped.

"Now there's the Helga I remember," Arnold said, laughing. Phoebe joined in with him, while Helga squirmed.

Phoebe faked looking at her phone. "Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed. "I lost track of time. I need to be somewhere ten minutes ago." Helga glared at her knowing full well Phoebe had nowhere to be. Arnold stood to give Phoebe another hug. She wrapped her arms around him squeezing tight before pulling back and looking up at him. "It really is wonderful to see you Arnold." She let him go and grabbed her coat. "I will text you later, Helga," she said before scampering out and slamming the door.

Arnold turned to look at Helga, who sat with her arms crossed and scowling a bit. He raised his hand to nervously rub the back of his neck. He had so much to say and no idea where to begin, and she wasn't giving him an easy time of it.

"So…" he said, sitting down again, but now turned so he could look at her.

Her expression softened and she relaxed just a bit as she returned his look. Helga was rattled. The last time she felt this powerless was in the jungle when her walls finally came down. She felt powerless now, with him sitting there and looking so good and tan. He had grown and filled out a bit. He was thin, but she could somehow tell he was strong. She didn't have to look down at him anymore. He looked wiser too, as if years in the jungle had taught him lessons he could never learn in the city. His voice was slightly deeper. And, she noticed with surprise, the hat was gone, though his hair was the same unruly tufted blond of his childhood.

"So," she grunted out.

"I am really glad to see you," he said. "I've really missed you."

Helga bit her lower lip. "I missed you too," she said in a small voice.

"You look great," Arnold said, looking down at his hands clasped in his lap. "The same, but different."

"You too. You finally caught up to me. I guess I can't call you Pipsqueak anymore," she said, trying to sound amusing and failing.

He did chuckle though. "No, I guess you can't."

They looked away from each other and were silent for a few minutes.

"Helga?"

"Arnold?"

Saying each other's name at the same time broke some of the tension and they nervously smiled at each other. "Ladies first," he said.

"Always the gentleman," she replied, then looked down. Might as well get it over with. "Arnold, I'm-I'm really sorry I never wrote."

"Helga, can you look at me please?"

She met his eyes and could see the hurt in them. She felt lower than dirt.

"Just tell me why, Helga. That's all I ask."

"It's complicated."

"It usually is with you," he said wryly.

She made a face, but couldn't take her eyes from his. This was her punishment and Helga G. Pataki would take it.

It took her a long time to figure out how to say what she said to Phoebe to Arnold. He waited patiently, not taking his eyes from hers. "I guess, simply put, I didn't think you really cared about me."

Arnold looked really confused. "Helga!" he said, exasperated. "How could…WHY would you think that?"

"You never said anything after...after…you know," she said defensively. "I thought maybe, I don't know," she threw her hands up helplessly.

He just looked at her. "You have to know. Just tell me."

Helga tried to pull her eyes from his, but she couldn't. Arnold looked angry now, as well as hurt. She felt tears prickle in her eyes and was horrified. She was not a crybaby and she couldn't break down in front of Arnold, she couldn't. "You-you said all those things. All those nice things. And kissed me. You knew how I felt about you, I know you did!" she choked out.

"I did," he said shortly.

"I was so thrilled at first, but scared. I didn't know if you meant it. Wait!" she said as he tried to say something. "In my heart I know that isn't the kind of guy you are, but my head? I don't know why, it made me doubt it."

He was shaking his head and finally broke eye contact to look down again. He was at a loss of what to say. "Helga…"

"I know, I know, I was stupid. And if we would have had a few more minutes, I think it would have been ok. But we didn't."

"No, we didn't."

"And then it all happened, we found your parents, we rescued our class, everything happened so fast. Oh, Arnold, don't think for a moment that I wasn't happy for you. I'd never been so happy in my life. Your dream had come true, and in spite of my insecurity, I thought my dream had come true as well."

"What changed that?" he asked quietly.

A couple of tears had escaped, annoying her. She quickly wiped at them, grateful that he wasn't looking at her. "You didn't say anything about how you felt."

But he had looked up quickly and caught her wiping her eyes. "Hey don't cry."

"Don't cry?!" she yelled, nearly hysterical. "Don't cry?" She jumped up from the couch and stood there shaking. "I've been broken-hearted for five years, longer if you count all the years I had loved you, and you say don't cry?"

"Helga!" Arnold jumped up too. "I'm sorry, so sorry. I thought you knew that I was serious. I didn't say anything more because I was too nervous about it and I didn't have a chance. Then my parents, they wanted me to stay and I didn't know what to do. I didn't realize you needed…" He felt guilty, and it showed. "Are you saying this has all been a misunderstanding?"

She shrugged. "I guess so." She was crying in earnest now and put her hands over her face. She said in a muffled voice. "I was so stupid, so stupid." She dropped her hands and looked at the floor and said in a tiny voice. "I did write, every week. I just never sent them."

He was even more amazed at that. "You did?"

She nodded. "I wasn't sure how to write to you. Your first letter, oh how I cherished it. But there was nothing about what happened in it. And I understood that, believe me!" Helga looked at him, causing him to wince at the tears rolling down her face. "I know it meant the world to you to be with your Mom and Dad. I wrote, I did. The minute I finished reading your letter. But it was too…" she spread her hands helplessly, "…too gushy. It wasn't really me. So I wrote another. Another. Four letters and NONE of them seemed right. I just didn't know how to write to you and I can't explain why that is."

She looked away again. "Every letter you sent, I hoped each time for something from you. Some clue that you really did care about me, but you never SAID it. All I had to go on was that kiss and you saying that you hoped I still loved you."

"That wasn't enough Helga? You've been watching me since we were in pre-school and you couldn't tell that I was honest with you? That I would never say anything like that unless I really felt it?"

"But you didn't tell me that you felt the same," she protested. "Just that you hoped I still felt that way."

He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't. He realized that it was, at least in part, his fault. Not really, things just happened so fast after kissing her.

"Saying 'goodbye' to you broke my heart Helga," he said quietly. "Staying in San Lorenzo was the hardest decision I've ever made."

She looked back at him, her eyes still wet with tears. Helga looked so endearing and he felt warm all over. It would be smoothed out and he felt even more hopeful. "It was?"

He nodded, coming closer to her and reaching for her hand. "I asked you to wait for me. Wasn't that proof of how I felt?" He gently pulled her closer and drew her into a hug, tightening his arms around her waist. She stiffened at first, then relaxed into it. She grabbed his shirt in her hands, buried her face into it, and sobbed. He just held her and let her cry.

Presently she subsided and pulled back a little. "I'm sorry," she said. He loosened his hold on her so she could grab some tissue and blow her nose.

"Do you feel better? Calmer?"

She nodded, throwing her tissue onto the end table.

"Good." He reached up to grasp her upper arms. It surprised her, but she thought quickly it probably shouldn't. Arnold had obviously changed a bit over the last five years and he seemed much more confident than when he was ten.

"Helga, I'm sorry," he said sincerely, looking into her eyes. "I can't explain why I never said anything in my letters. I honestly don't know. I can only imagine that it was something that never occurred to a ten year old boy to say. And since you never wrote, I guess I thought maybe you didn't love me anymore. You didn't really answer me in the jungle. I know you built me up into this perfect person, but I'm not. I make mistakes. Obviously big ones." He smiled ruefully. "And I guess, I don't know, what I felt was too big to put into a few words. I'm so sorry if I hurt you."

"I'm sorry too," she said in a low tone. "I was stupid not to have written you."

"Yeah, you were," he agreed, smiling at the tightening of her expression. Helga hadn't changed all that much. He chuckled, "I don't mean to sound mean about it. Maybe if you had written and we had kept writing back and forth I'm sure I would have been able to write more about what I felt."

She looked down, "That's what Phoebe said."

"We were kids, Helga. What did either of us really know about love or how to act or how to be with each other? Especially from so far away?"

She considered that and realized that he was right. She had loved him. Still loved him, but what she felt now was completely different from the obsession she felt as a kid.

She sighed, her posture sagging a bit. "You're right."

"The fact that I still wrote you every other week should have been a clue that I still thought about you all the time, even though you weren't writing me back. I just kept hoping someday I would have a letter in my hands written by you."

"I know, I wasn't thinking. I was just so insecure. Please understand. The last few months before the trip were an emotional rollercoaster for me, winning the trip and trying to hide it. I thought you had rejected me at FTi, so I tried to avoid you so I wouldn't get hurt. But you wouldn't let me avoid you and I hurt all the time at what I couldn't have. Then there was the trip and all the things we went through, everything you were doing, the flirting and all. I was so confused. Then you kissed me and I thought I was finally realizing my dream, my head was in the clouds. Every time in my life that I've been happy or had something good happen, something bad happens and takes that away. I was afraid because of how that El Corazon thing made me feel. I was afraid it was all a dream and would disappear. And then I was giving you up, letting you go so you could be with your parents…" she trailed off.

"Helga, I understand, I do." Arnold moved his hands up to cup her face. "I wish I could have expressed myself better then. You have to know that I thought about you all the time, every day. I missed you so much, and was thrilled inside if any of our classmates mentioned you in their letters, which wasn't often enough for me. They must have all thought you were writing too. I heard bits and pieces of how you'd changed, how nice you'd become and how friendly and it made my heart ache that I couldn't be here to see that."

"It was all because of you Arnold…"

"Helga, a confused and unsure and scared ten year old couldn't say it five years ago, but he can say it now," he said staring intently into her eyes. "I love you. I realized during the trip that I had loved you for a long time, I just didn't recognize it as love. I've loved you even before you confessed your love for me, it just took me a long time to figure it out. To figure out why I always liked to talk to you, to be with you, why I felt protective of you, why I wanted to make you happy. I've loved you all this time I've been away and I love you now."

Helga paled and her eyes widened and then she felt the blush start burning her cheeks under his fingers. Her heart stopped and she felt like she was falling from a cliff. Her mind was blank except for the echo of his words.

He waited a few moments then gave her his signature half-lidded expression with the half grin. "You did hear me, right?"

She nodded, a little difficult with her face in his hands.

"I asked you five years ago if you still felt the same way that you did at FTi, so I'll ask now if you still feel that way about me, because now that I'm home, I don't plan on letting you get away from me again."

"Oh…oh…of course I do, you Football Head!" she spat out in irritation.

He laughed, lovingly. "And again, that's the Helga I remember. You know," he said in an amused tone, "I don't have much experience with kissing. It's all only been with you. So forgive me if this isn't perfect, but I've been waiting five very long years for this." He brought his face closer to hers and kissed her, gently. She closed her eyes as his hands dropped to encircle her waist and her arms went around his neck. He pressed her closer to himself and the passion of their kiss increased. Five years of frustration and misunderstanding and missing each other poured into this, their first real and mutual kiss.


	33. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An epilogue of the future.

**Epilogue**

Her hands rested on the keyboard of her laptop as she leaned back in her slightly uncomfortable chair. Uncomfortable enough to force her to get out of it occasionally. She deliberately picked out this chair because she knew herself and knew if she was totally comfortable, she would never tear herself away from the computer once she started writing. Especially in this beautiful writing room of hers in the top of the three-story brownstone in Hillwood. The late-afternoon sun shone through the large windows, falling on her face as she turned her head and closed her eyes, soaking in the warmth.

It was finished. Finished in a way. There was revising and editing to do, but the main writing was done. The third and last book in a series. The first was scheduled to be released in the fall, a mere 10 months away. Her publisher accepted it based on the success of the first two novels she had released as a young, upstart author. Accepted this story, though it was a complete departure from her usual style. She had never written an action story before. Well, yes in college as an assignment, but nothing such as the scope of this.

She saved the document again, then saved it on the backup flash drive, which she then pulled from her laptop. She was ever paranoid about losing her work and backed it up every time. A short story written in college that she really loved had been lost on a laptop that died as she was writing the last of it. She couldn’t retrieve it, no matter what she did. Her friend, Brainy, who was in school for computer engineering couldn’t even save it. She had rewritten it, of course, over the weekend, but it never achieved the beauty of the original.

The flash drive was shoved into the firesafe, which sat under her desk. The editing could wait. She had worked steadily on these three novels for ten months, ever since she brought the idea up at her birthday party. The novels were a memoir, of sorts, so she wanted certain permissions from certain people to write about them. The third book, their memoir, had characterizations of everyone she grew up with, and she didn’t feel like she could write about them without asking them if she could. She was grateful that everyone agreed.

She massaged her extended stomach, feeling the stirring of the small life within. She was glad the bulk of the writing was done before this little girl made her entrance into the world a month from now. Life would definitely be upended for her, juggling caring for this new baby and an active two-year-old, but she looked forward to it. Having never thought she would be a good mother, or rather having never thought she would even like kids, she found that this stay-at-home mom thing was exactly her cup of tea. She loved it and told her delighted husband after their son was born that she was open to having a few more. She found that playing with her son was a joy in and of itself. She couldn’t wait to meet her daughter, though she was slightly worried her daughter might act a little too much like her. Her husband teased her a little too much about that.

Speaking of, she thought, as she heard a soft knock on the door of her writing room. Her husband was ever careful about interrupting her. She was so lucky that he was understanding about her requirements for keeping her creative juices flowing. He was the one who found this house with its’ upper story perfect for a writing room. He was the one who worked with his father and her father to make the room perfect for her. And he was the one who took charge of Holden when she had the urge to write. Granted, he was between semesters at the moment, so he had no classes to teach and was home allowing her the ability to write all day. Usually she had to wait until he came home, or Holden napped.

“Come in!” she called.

The door swung open as she looked toward it, smiling as she saw Holden toddling into the room in front of his father. Holden, named for the protaganist of their favorite book, a book she shared with her husband years ago on the very adventure she had just finished writing about. Holden, who was a carbon copy of his father in looks and personality, right down to his old soul aura evident even at the young age of two. 

Her husband grinned at her, an ear to ear grin that reminded her of him as a kid and she had to smile back at him. “He’s been asking for you and I ran out of excuses,” he said.

“It’s ok,” she said, laughing. Holden staggered over to her and clung to her knees. “Sorry, little man,” she said, looking down at the green eyes looking up at her. “I can’t pick you up until Elizabeth gets here.”

“Beth,” Holden said, placing his hands on his mother’s stomach. “Hurry up!”

His parents laughed and she grabbed Holden’s hands, lifting them to her mouth to kiss them. He just gave her a serious and grave look before pulling away and wandering over to the corner of the room reserved for him and his toys. 

“How’s the book?” her husand asked.

“Done,” she said with a tone of triumph. “Well, written anyway, I still need to edit it.”

“Can I read the last of it?” he asked eagerly. He had been reading along, enjoying it thoroughly as it was his story, essentially. His and his parents.

She turned to slide the laptop over a little as he knelt down on the floor next to her. She scrolled to where she had begun that day, the part where he had first told her he loved her. She knew he did for years before that, but it was the first time he said it. She idly toyed with his shaggy blond hair as he read.

“This is perfect,” he murmured, looking up at her with a smile. “Did I really sound that sappy?”

She laughed, “We both did. That’s how I remember the conversation anyway. If you remember different, let me know.”

He shook his head, “No. Sounds like me anyway. I am pretty sappy.”

“True,” she agreed as he put his cheek on her belly and tried to put his arms around her, which proved difficult because of the almost nine-months extra weight she carried. She felt him laugh.

“Gee thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Are you planning on letting Mom and Dad read it?”

“When I finish the whole thing. The first novel is done. I’m almost done editing the second. Once I finish editing this, they can read the whole thing. I hope they like it.”

He leaned back, his hands coming to rest on the tops of her thighs. “They will love it, Helga. You captured their story beautifully.”

She was uncomfortable with direct praise, so she shrugged. “I tried my best, Arnold.”

“The Jungle Trilogy,” he said thoughtfully. “I can’t believe my life story will be a novel.”

“Our life story,” she reminded him. 

* * *

She had proposed to tell her in-laws’ story in two books. The first book would be about them and how they met, fell in love, got married, their adventures and would end with their disappearance. The second book was supposed to tell the remainder of the story – the missing years, the search for them when she and Arnold were in fifth grade, finding them and Arnold’s reunion with them. In writing the second half of the second book, Helga found it difficult to tell the story of their search without having to do flashback after flashback. Her actions, Arnold’s actions, the actions of their friends, all needed to be explained. Integrating those explanations into an action novel focusing on searching for the Shortmans proved to be impossible. 

When she had expressed her frustrations to Arnold, he was the one to suggest the third novel. “End the second with my parents being caught by La Sombra the last time. Maybe with their escape. Then write a third and tell our whole story.”

“Our story?” she had questioned doubtfully. “Don’t you think that would be boring?”

He had laughed, shaking his head. “Think of our childhood, Helga,” he said. “How is any of that boring? All our adventures. An epic love story. Everything a good book needs.”

She reached up to tweak his nose, making a huffing noise through her nose. “Epic love story?”

“It IS epic, because it’s ours,” he had insisted, and had given her his cheesy grin, which of course decided the issue. 

* * *

“Come on,” Arnold said, bringing her thoughts back to the present. “You need some dinner and Mom stopped over earlier to drop off a lasagna. She knew you were busy writing.”

“Ah, my favorite! She spoils me,” Helga said, holding out her hand so that Arnold could help her get out of her chair. “Ugh, I can’t wait until next month.”

“Me either,” he replied, pulling her up to her feet. 

It took them a few minutes to pry Holden away from the Duplo blocks he was building with. It took the promise of cookies to get him out the door. Arnold swung the little boy up onto his shoulders, getting a rare giggle from the normally serious child. Holden buried his hands into Arnold’s hair and clutched tightly, making Arnold wince.

Helga laughed, cautioning Arnold to be careful not to knock Holden’s head on the door jamb. Arnold just gave her a look and rolled his eyes before ducking out of the room. “Cookies, Momma!” Holden called back to remind her of her promise. 

“Yes, I’m coming,” she said. She closed her laptop gently and left the room, closing the door behind her.


End file.
